


To Be A Spartan

by Faldon113



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Major Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Written strictly for fun, how the hell does tagging work?, mostly canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-25 00:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 156,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9794891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faldon113/pseuds/Faldon113
Summary: Not all Spartans want to be Spartans. Some want nothing more than to choose their own path. Several tried. Only one succeeded. However, with the survival of the human race hanging in the balance, will she choose to continue her free life or will she become the Spartan she was supposed to be once more. Main character is OC but most others are canon. Don't like, don't read.





	1. Corbulo's Last Stand

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted on Fanfiction and was an answer to my question, could I retell the Halo saga from multiple media sources in a way that everyone can read? Yes...yes I can but at the cost of my sanity. When I started, I had no idea how to take such a big universe and tell my story. As the years have gone by, I've learned how I see Halo, and this story just doesn't fit anymore. Also, my main character was supposed to be like an Easter Egg, popping up on occasion without becoming important, and that just...did not happen. At all. In fact, she basically took over. So I am in the process of rewriting this entire story. However, since I'm newly posting here, I wanted to place the original as a reference. If you'd rather wait for the new (and, in my opinion, better) story, feel free to disregard TBAS. If you like this, though, please watch for the new story, A Soldier's Heart.

**Corbulo's Last Stand**

Time: 0640\

April 27, 2526\

Circinius IV

The Pelican was silent as it finally flew into space. Orenski and Sullivan were fast asleep, enjoying the rest that only someone who is physically and mentally exhausted can achieve. Master Chief was as he had been since boarding the Pelican; silent and watchful. The other two soldiers with child's faces talked quietly among themselves, content to ignore everything else, although they also had an air of watchfulness and readiness about them. And then there was Lasky who was trying really hard to stay awake. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust the soldiers that had rescued them. On the contrary, he trusted Master Chief completely. He was just afraid to sleep. Afraid of what his dreams would hold after the events of the night. Afraid that Chyler's face would haunt him again and that he would see her die over and over.

"You need to sleep." The cadet glanced over at the other human on the Pelican. Kaine wasn't even looking at him. She was leaning against the sealed rear door, her eyes closed. He'd thought she was asleep.

How had she become so important to him? She had been a bit of a loner amongst the cadets, having senior standing despite only being at the Academy for one year. An apparent genius when it came to military subjects, she'd aced every test the instructors could give her. She did _not_  interact with freshmen cadets. At least, she didn't until recently. Was it really only the day before yesterday that she'd inserted herself in his life? Apparently, she was more than comfortable staying there. "Tom, seriously, you need to sleep."

"I'm afraid," he mumbled, too tired to make the words distinct. Kaine rolled her eyes behind her eyelids before reaching over and tugging the tired boy into her arms. Her hands carded through his blood soaked hair as she hummed a mindless tune. Across from them, the cadet knew the soldiers were giving them strange looks, but he didn't much care. Kaine's voice and hands were soothing him into the sleep that he had been avoiding for so many hours.

"Sleep, Lasky. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Too tired to give a verbal reply, he nodded before finally allowing himself to drift away. He could feel the nightmares on the edge of his mind, but they were chased away as he fell deeper into the black depths where even his fears could not find him. The only thing to accompany him was the haunting hum that shielded his mind.

* * *

 

Time: 0703\

April 25, 2526\

Circinius IV, Corbulo Academy of Military Science

"You're dismissed," Orenski nearly spat, so clearly disgusted with the both of them. Lasky slid into attention, hoping this would be the end of the humiliation. He knew Vickers was going to get back at him for this. How exactly he would retaliate was unknown, but no way was the bastard going to let this punishment go without remark. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vickers twitch and prepared to about-face with him.

"Cadet Lasky, stay." The cadet very nearly jumped, but he held himself in check, barely. His eyes darted over to meet the cold gaze of one of the other cadets. He didn't know her personally, but her name tag read Faldon. Her red hair was shorn outrageously short, making it very easy to mistake her for a boy and she was taller than almost all the female cadets, nearly taller than some of the men. Her muscles were evident, though not bulging, and the way she held herself was that of a soldier who knew they were deadly and didn't have any problem proving that point over and over. Pale skin that looked like it had never seen sunlight, which didn't make sense at all considering the training of Corbulo. Yet it was her eyes that stood out the most. They were a silvery color he had never seen before in a human being. Their depths seemed to surge and swirl like the molten silver he had once seen at a metal shop as a boy. Or maybe his thoughts were just waxing poetic again.

Faldon glanced over at Orenski. "Do you mind if I talk with cadet Lasky?" she asked. Some of the cadets snickered. Obviously, they had an idea of the thrashing the male cadet was about to receive. The mere thought made him break out in a sweat.

"Permission granted," Orenski said, a slight smirk in the corners of her mouth. She knew how hard and unforgiving the redhead could be, and she couldn't wait to see the cadet break down and cry.

No more relaxed, despite having permission to rip the cadet a new ass, the older cadet met Lasky's gaze again, her eyes flashing an even brighter silver in the light of the mess hall. "Where did you get those blisters from, cadet?" Everyone around the table sat straighter in surprise; what blisters was she talking about? Tom twitched away to hide the marks from her gaze but clearly, it was far too late for that.

"I'm not sure, sir," he answered, hoping the senior cadet would let the subject drop. The tightening of the skin around her eyes informed him that she would not.

"You're not sure? That blister covers the whole side of your hand, cadet. And I'm sure you have more that are covered by the uniform. Blisters on your feet are normal. Blisters on the palm of your hand and your fingertips are normal. The two blisters I've seen, the one on the side of your hand and the one on your neck, are not. Now, what is wrong with you?" All the senior cadets were staring at him now, trying to see what Faldon was talking about. Once pointed out, the two blisters were so painfully obvious, they all wondered how they had missed them, Orenski more than the others.

"Dr. Hughes thinks the blisters come from the cryo training, sir," Lasky responded, hoping the answer would get her off his back. Instead, her eyes just narrowed further. She didn't go so far as to question the doctor's prognosis, but she was obviously unhappy.

“And the difficulty breathing?” she queried, eyes nearly daring him to lie to her. Inwardly, the freshman cadet was nearly in a panic. How was she doing this?! For crying out loud, how did she even know about his breathing issues? Was she watching him or something?! “I can understand your squad not noticing the blisters, but surely they would realize that something was wrong when you couldn't keep up while running in formation.” Well, they hadn't, and Tom could see Orenski was nearly kicking herself by that point.

“He is unsure, sir,” was his response to the question. Really, what else could he say? “At the moment he seems to be of the opinion that it is taking my body longer to adjust to the cryo training than the average time.” Okay, so Dr. Hughes hadn't said anything of the kind, but it was what the brunette thought. Faldon was clearly skeptical. The other senior cadets, Orenski included, were also giving him looks of disbelief.

Then the redhead shook her head and waved her hand in a clearly dismissive manner. "Get the blisters looked at again, cadet. If you go into a fight injured you'll only be a burden and a liability to your team. And figure out what is causing your breathlessness. You haven't been in cryo at all today, and you're still struggling to breathe right.”

This time it was Tom's eyes that narrowed the slightest bit. Yes, he was having some problems still, but how did she know that? She tensed slightly, almost like she'd said too much, before meeting his gaze.

"Understood, sir," he answered smartly. To the cadet's immense surprise, Faldon's eyes actually glinted at him. He thought that sort of stuff only happened in books and movies. The redhead nodded once, dismissing both him and Vickers who had had to stand beside him the entire time. Together, they executed a flawless about-face and started walking away.

"Must be tough on your mom," Vickers said, voice quiet but still carrying well the short distance to the brunette's ears. "Her real son is never coming home." Lasky froze, rage instantly roaring through him. It wasn't the first time Vickers had made some offhand comment about Cadmon and Tom was ready to brush the statement off as he always did. But this time was different. This time he felt a pair of silver eyes watching him, curious about what he would do, how he would respond. How she had even heard Vickers over the bustle of the mess hall was a mystery but she had and she was waiting patiently.

She didn't have to wait long. With a tiny growl, Lasky snapped his elbow back and nailed Vickers in the face. The fight was on.

* * *

 

Time: 1342\

April 26, 2526\

Circinius IV, Corbulo Academy of Military Science

Having a bright light shined straight in your eyes wasn't the best way to wake up, Lasky mused. Even less so when you feel like your chest is bound with steel bands and your head is throbbing hard enough to explode. Then he recognized Dr. Hughes' face and realized that he must have screwed up big time. Trying to ask what was wrong, the cadet could only hiss in pain and cough roughly. That hurt. Gathering his strength and thoughts, he finally gasped, “What happened?”

“You passed out during a training exercise,” the doctor answered, opening a floodgate in Tom's memories. He remembered now. The game, his plan, running through the forest behind Chyler, the flag right before him, and then everything suddenly going black as he felt his lungs catch and he couldn't catch his breath at all. Talk about embarrassing.

“My chest feels like it’s on fire,” he croaked.

“Turns out the cryo blisters and your difficulty breathing are an allergic reaction to the cytoprethaline,” Hughes explained. “It's a drug we inject to keep ice crystals from forming in your cells during cryosleep. Occurs in about one in every fifty thousand, or so.”

“So I won't be able to breathe every time I wake up from cryosleep,” the cadet summed up, feeling the words nearly crush him. How was he supposed to be a UNSC soldier if he couldn't go into cryo?

“The intensity of your allergy is still undetermined,” Hughes tried to reassure, but the attempts fell flat. “I'll know more in a few hours. I want you to take it really easy the rest of the day, cadet.” Tom could only stare at the ceiling, trying to process everything. All his plans, all his hopes and dreams, were falling apart right before his eyes. It took everything he had to acknowledge the order.

“In the meantime,” Hughes said, getting to his feet, “I've brought cadet Faldon to talk to you.” Startled, the brunette glanced over to see the redhead leaning against the far wall, watching him. “Faldon has the same allergy,” the doctor explained. “She can answer most of your questions while I run some tests.” Glancing at the female, he nodded once and she returned the gesture before he left the two cadets alone.

For several long moments, there was silence in the room. Lasky finally sighed, “Why are you here, sir?” He got a look that seemed to mix amusement and exasperation as the girl finally sat on the spare bed.

“Dr. Hughes just told you, cadet,” she replied blandly. “I'm here to answer questions. However, if you'd rather rest and think through things yourself, that's fine too.” Pulling out the standard pad that was assigned to every student, she pulled up an article and started reading. For a while, silence returned, but then she quietly said, “Rest, Lasky. I'm here if you need me.” For some reason, he believed her and let himself fade back into sleep, wondering what Cadmon would say if he was there.

It was Cadmon's voice that woke Tom up again. Confused, the cadet looked around for his brother, but instead saw Chyler sitting at his desk, watching one of the recorded COMs, while the redhead was stretched across the far bed, still reading off her pad. Deciding that the redhead could wait, the male turned to his friend instead. “What are you doing?” he asked, trying not to sound overly accusatory. Chyler glanced at him in surprise before clearly struggling with her words, unable to maintain eye contact.

“Why do you torment yourself with these?” she finally asked. Lasky had a feeling that wasn't what she was actually worried about, but the question still hurt and he looked away. She wouldn't understand. Those COMs were all he had left of his brother. They were his last connection to a man that he would never see again. Sometimes just hearing his voice was enough to brighten the brunette's entire day. It also gave him something to cling to. Everything he did now, every choice he made, was to honor not only Cadmon but the sacrifice he had made. That was an idea that Chyler couldn't grasp. She wanted revenge for her parents. Tom wanted to change things for his brother.

Realizing she'd said the wrong thing, Chyler asked, “Are you okay?” Still a little peeved at her, the cadet lifted his shirt silently, showing off the blisters that he knew covered most of his chest and abdomen. “Whoa!” the female said, clearly shocked. Across the room, Lasky noted that the older cadet didn't bother glancing up. If she really did suffer the same allergy, she knew what he looked like.

“I've been better,” he finally told Chyler dryly. Unbidden, anger and frustration bubbled in his chest. He'd been suffering for weeks and no one in the squad had deigned to notice except Sully. It wasn't that he doubted her concern, but it was still annoying that she had basically ignored his struggles until then.

“What did Dr. Hughes say?” she asked, clearly struggling to make sense of everything. She was always so analytical.

“That it's nothing,” Tom sniped, covering himself back up. He could see the look of disbelief from the corner of his eye, but he could almost feel Faldon arch an eyebrow at him. However, when she stayed silent he decided not to concern himself with her reactions. It was clear that she was letting him handle things.

“Really?” Chyler asked, voice dripping with doubt. Fed up with the questions, the male cadet just turned to give her another look before turning away in an obvious snub. It was enough to convey that he was not willing to discuss the situation any further. Sighing, the female conceded and instead said, “You know, we won today. Your strategy worked.”

Deciding that the comment could be taken as a peace offering, the brunette chose to see it that way and smiled slightly. “That's just me, being a leader,” he teased, both echoing her earlier words and reminding her that he had once been the team leader. Just because Cadmon's death had given him different goals, he was still the same man underneath. Still a good strategist and leader. It rankled a bit that everyone seemed to forget that because he'd been given the title of Innie lover.

“Lasky, wake up,” the COM unit suddenly beeped as Sully called him. “Oh, hey Chyler.” Not liking the suggestive tone in his friend's voice, Tom decided he needed to intervene quickly.

Ignoring Faldon's warning look, the brunette got up, replying, “What's up, Sully?”

“Get in here, you guys got to see this,” was the response, voice nearly bursting with excitement. Confused, Lasky glanced at Chyler but she was giving him the same look. Across the room, the redhead sighed in frustration as she turned off her pad and got to her feet. Giving them both looks, the older cadet sarcastically gestured towards the door, indicating that she knew they would go, regardless of any warning she might give. With a slight smile, he got on his feet, but he still watched her closely. He'd noted how she'd suddenly jerked her hand back before hitting the wall with her gesture. However, she hadn't moved like someone trying to avoid a painful situation. It had looked more like someone checking a movement because they were giving too much away.

Down the hall in Sully's room, the rest of Hastati was already gathered. Sully gave a startled look when Faldon stepped in behind the brunette, but when the injured cadet gave a nod to his friend, the sneaky cadet decided to trust her for now. “You look like crap,” Vickers said to Lasky, but the usual malice was gone from his voice. In fact, he ended up nodding to him in respect while Sully started boasting.

“Okay, so feast your eyes on Grade-A, classified, non-illicit intelligence vids I pieced together,” Sully gushed, clearly very proud of himself. Tom could hear the redhead snort good-naturedly behind him, leaning against the nearby wall. She obviously didn't have much trust that the young cadet could live up to the claim. Lasky wasn't so sure. He'd seen Sully get plenty of information that he really shouldn't have. “Super pain in the ass to do,” Sully continued as he pushed play, “but so worth it.”

On the screen, the cadets could see that the vid was recorded by HUD camera. It showed narrow concrete hallways and they could hear the sound of gunfire. “This is beyond top secret,” Dimah purred, obviously pleased to be part of the group watching. Tom, however, got bored pretty fast. From the looks of the video, it was a standard op. No reason to make it classified.

“I've never seen something encrypted so hard, but I cracked it,” Sully continued to boast. Somewhere behind him, the brunette could feel the older cadet shifting. He couldn't tell if she was bored or interested in what was happening on screen. “It's crazy, huh?” Sully asked as one of the other cadets whispered an exclamation of surprise.

Then, quite suddenly, the assembled cadets heard a voice say, “Target located,” and Tom could feel Kaine suddenly turn into a stone statue as she tensed up. No one else seemed to notice as Sully told them to look at the hand. “Target acquired,” the voice said as a humongous hand appeared in the frame and lifted the Insurrectionist in the air. While the cadets started exclaiming about what they were seeing, the quiet sound of the redhead's surprised grunt was lost. Lasky tried to glance back at her but only managed to note how her already pale skin had turned nearly white before the vids commanded his attention again.

The Insurrectionists had surrendered, but several of them were saying, “They're coming! They're coming!” Tom had thought they had meant the UNSC troops, but then he saw that they were looking in the other direction. They'd been running, but from what?

“Squad, we have an unknown hostile,” the voice from the HUD said, making Faldon twitch. “Falling back.” A man suddenly sailed through the air screaming, drawing exclamations of surprise and disbelief from the cadets. The area started to flash with glowing green as Sully asked the others who they thought the people were running from.

“Are they fighting together?” Chyler asked, apparently unable to move past that point. Lasky risked another glance at Faldon to see that her eyes were locked on the screen, wide and unblinking. He wasn't sure how, but the cadet was willing to bet that she understood more of what they were seeing than anyone else.

Then the person doing the recording suddenly turned and the vid froze on the image of something the cadets had never seen before. It looked like a soldier, but not one that any of them had ever seen before. The armor was strange, impossible to mistake for ODST gear. Not to mention the person looked as big as whoever was filming the entire mission, making them massive beyond the imagination of most of the cadets. Lasky noted the three numbers on the chest piece, 104, but more than that, he heard the almost inaudible whisper from behind him. “Fred.”

“It is now 1800,” the academy AI suddenly chimed across the intercom systems. “All cadets, report to the mess hall.” Slowly, the cadets in Sully's room obeyed, restraining themselves from talking about what they'd just seen. Faldon remained the longest, staring at the screen like a man dying of thirst would stare at a glass of water before she slowly turned away and followed the cadet, who had waited for her.

In the mess hall, the older cadet sat with Hastati, waving the questions away by tersely informing the squad that Dr. Hughes had told her to remain with the brunette until he said otherwise. She then proceeded to ignore them all, eating her meal in a deceptively calm manner. Lasky seemed to be the only one to notice that she would occasionally pause in order to force herself to relax. Twice he saw her suddenly unclench her hands and subtly attempt to unbend whatever poor utensil she'd bent out of shape. The cadet's discussion about what they had seen didn't seem to faze her at all, and she offered no opinions of her own. The only time she reacted to anything was when Chyler said, “Guys, you're missing the point. What matters is that our soldiers were fighting alongside the Insurrectionists. Why would we protect the enemy?”

“You must have missed the fact that whatever they were running from was strong enough to throw a fully grown and armored man through the air and into a wall,” the redhead suddenly said, catching them all off guard as they turned to stare at her. “Clearly, whatever they were facing was a threat to both Insurrectionists and UNSC. It's simple logic to ally yourself with people that aren't trying to kill you in the face of something that is.” Glaring at the other female cadet, the senior coldly said, “The universe isn't black and white, Silva. You might find yourself in a situation some day where the only way you and your men will survive is if you work with someone you consider an enemy. Will you damn your men to death because you are too proud to let go of a grudge?”

Silence fell on the table for a few seconds before Dr. Hughes suddenly called, “Cadet Lasky.” Surprised yet again, all the cadets looked up at him. “Col. Mehaffey would like to see you.” Realizing that it had to be about his allergy, Tom felt a cold dread settle into his chest. Jerkily, he nodded and got up, fixing his uniform as he walked. He heard the redhead rise to follow, but the firm voice of Hughes stopped her. Whatever was about to happen, the cadet was on his own. In some ways, he was happy about it. Faldon always had a sense of seriousness about her that set him on edge, even knowing that she wasn't a threat to him. If she'd come along, the brunette doubted he would be able to relax at all as he made his way through the hallways. Not that he did much better on his own.

Reaching Col. Mehaffey's office, Lasky knocked once and received an order to enter. Obeying quickly, he snapped to attention before her desk, only for her to quickly tell him to stand at ease. It was surprising enough that it took him a few seconds to obey. “How are you feeling?” she asked, voice gentler than he had heard in a very long time.

“My chest burns, sir,” he answered, caught slightly off guard. He hadn't ever entertained the idea that Col. Mehaffey could actually be nice. “Quite a bit.”

Not looking surprised, the Col. spun the piece of paper that was on her desk and slid it over towards the cadet's side. “This is for you.” Already having a bad feeling, he took the sheet reluctantly. “Seems like you have a choice to make, Thomas,” she said as he started reading. Even though he understood every word on the page, he was struggling to make sense of the sentences. It almost looked like a discharge, but that couldn't be. They wouldn't kick him out, surely.

“I don't understand, sir,” he finally admitted, even as part of him berated him. What was that really old saying that Cadmon had loved to use? De Nile is not just a river in Egypt.

“It appears Dr. Hughes' test has revealed that the level of your allergy to cytoprethaline is serious enough to warrant a medical discharge,” Mehaffey explained patiently. “If you feel that you are unfit for service, all you need to do is sign the release and bring it to the Tether.” Her words carried a level of finality that finally broke through all of the brunette's disbelief. This was real. One piece of paper could decide his entire future. All he had to do was sign it. The very idea was so immense and incredible, it was hard to wrap his mind around it. Just that morning, all Tom had been able to think about was how to lead Hastati squad to victory in the training exercise. Now he was being told to decide what path his life would take forever more.

“When would I leave?” he asked, not wanting to make a brash or hurried decision.

“Tomorrow,” was the unforgiving answer.

“Tomorrow,” he repeated, incredulous. He knew he was on the very edge of being insubordinate, but Mehaffey didn't react. Deep down, he recognized that she understood how hard this was for him. The shocks and surprises had been beating him over the head all day, and this was his first opportunity to lash out. Rather than get angry, Mehaffey was willing to let him vent on her.

“You know, Thomas,” she said gently, “your memories, your choices are all you'll have left. At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box. You have to decide what you're willing to sacrifice.” The way she said it, Tom wondered if she had sacrificed something that she regretted. However, her words still managed to soothe something that was hurting inside of him. Without a word, Lasky saluted. To his shock, Mehaffey got to her feet and returned the salute, whispering, “Axios,” as she did. It was the first time he felt as if she was proud of him.

“Axios,” he said back. Dismissed, he quickly left the office and made his way through the halls. He felt like his head was stuffed with cotton, muffling the world around him. It was amazing how his world could be shaken up, turned upside-down, and blast out of an airlock, yet life continued like normal. Everyone around him had their own worries and concerns and final tests and exercises were rapidly approaching. None of them had any idea that the brunette was lost in a sea that made no sense to him anymore.

Back in his room, Tom read the single sheet of paper again and again. A part of him was hoping that if he stared at the printed words long enough they would change to something he could accept easier. However, the words stubbornly remained the same, almost taunting him. Hoping to clear his mind, even just a little, Lasky keyed his display to play Cadmon's next COM, but he'd forgotten that Chyler had been watching them earlier. The COM that appeared wasn't from Cadmon, but their mother, and the cadet's insides went cold as he realized what this COM was about.

“Thomas,” she started, composed and unruffled. It was like nothing affected her anymore. “It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that today, your brother Cadmon was shot down by Insurrectionist forces on Andesia. All of his squad perished. I've been told it was a quick and painless death.” Maybe not for him, but Lasky could feel the invisible wound in his chest open more and more every time he listened to this message. His mother's words began to echo as her son rubbed his thumb over his brother's dog tags. It had been all they'd been able to recover. “There are no remains to bury,” his mother continued. “With this in mind, I have decided that you shall not leave Corbulo to attend services.” He couldn't hear anymore. What right did she have, to deny him that closure? His brother had died, and the brunette hadn't even been given the opportunity to openly mourn him. Corbulo wouldn't give him time off to cry and scream like he'd wanted. His squad had tried to understand, but their flexibility only went so far when each one was focused on their own future and goals. With Cadmon gone, Tom had nobody.

“Lasky!” The word triggered sluggishly in Tom's mind. That wasn't his mother's voice. “Lasky,” Sully suddenly repeated as he barged into the room, snapping his friend out of his thoughts, “move over, I've got to show you something!”

“Now's not a good time, Sully, okay?” the brunette tried to argue, but he was soundly ignored.

“No, it's important,” Sully insisted, quickly typing away at his friend's display. In seconds he'd called up the classified vids that he had been working on, revealing the final image of the mystery soldier. Then, he zoomed in on the HUD. Startled, the cadet sat up straighter and stared at what he could see now. Something very, very strange was reflected on the soldier's faceplate. It was alien looking, some kind of creature with a glowing...thing. “Now what the hell is that?” Sully asked. Unlike all the questions before, this one wasn't excited or curious. In fact, Lasky thought that his friend almost sounded afraid.

Then, without warning, the display died, taking the image with it. “Whoa,” Sully said, utterly confused as he tried to bring everything back.

“It's offline,” Tom noted, still too lost in the shock of the day's revelations to muster much of an emotional response.

“I'm screwed man,” Sully suddenly deadpanned. “It's ONI. They must have flagged those COMs.” Lasky had enough time to give his friend an incredulous look, he'd assumed his friend was smart enough to not hack into ONI vids at the very least, before Sully quickly left, saying, “I gotta talk to Dimah.” Rushing out of the room, he yelled down the hall, “Dimah! Did you tell your mom?!”

Wondering if he should chase after his friend, the brunette finally decided to let him figure it out. The older cadet had enough on his plate and he was barely able to function as it was. Thinking that Chyler could help him straighten things out, he picked up the paper and went next door to talk to her. “Chyler,” he called, but the room was empty. Now that he was up and moving, he couldn't stand the idea of going back to his room, so the cadet picked a new destination and started out.

His chest was still burning as he carefully trotted outside. He had no idea where Chyler was and, honestly, he was too tired to go looking for her. Thoughts were whirling about his mind so damn fast and he couldn't sort them out. It was times like this that he went out to his "spot". Most people weren't insane enough to willingly sit on top of a crate filled with explosives, so he was guaranteed some privacy when he went there. It was a place where he could find some quiet and sort through the mess of thoughts that he dubiously called his mind. But this time he wasn't the only person on the crate.

"I figured you'd come out eventually," Faldon said, laying peacefully on the crate and looking up at the stars. She didn't move as the brunette hesitantly sat next to her but somehow he knew she was aware of his every move. "I talked to Dr. Hughes after you left," she said. “He told me about the recommendation he gave to Black and Mehaffey. Full honorable medical discharge.” The paper in Lasky's hand rustled as he made a fist around it. "Are you going to sign it?"

"Whatever happened to patient confidentiality?" Lasky asked, hoping to throw off this line of questions. The redhead just smiled, clearly on to him.

"Remember, Dr. Hughes thinks I can help you." She finally sat up, apparently tired of star-gazing. Considering the calm and relaxing activity she'd just been enjoying, the brunette was a little surprised to see a very hard and dangerous look in her eyes as she glared out at the forest. After a moment she shifted her gaze to him and attempted to soften the glare. "Do you have any questions about what you should do?"

"Why did you stay?" was the only thing to come out of his's mouth and he could have shot himself for it. This was supposed to be about him, not her! But Faldon just chuckled, the dark look finally fading entirely.

"I stayed because this is what I'm meant to do, Lasky. Being a soldier is the path that was chosen for me and I'm helpless to do anything but follow it." Her eyes dimmed as they shifted back to the forest, apparently highly restless. "I've defied my fate as much as I can, choosing how, when, and where I would be a soldier, but I can't escape my ultimate destination. When I learned about my allergy it wasn't a way out for me. It was just another bloody obstacle I had to face and overcome." Again their gaze met, and again she seemed to be trying to tell him something silently. "It is a way out for you, Lasky. I'm sure Col. Mehaffey gave you the talk about how your memories and your choices are ultimately all you'll have left in the end. How does she put it? 'At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.'" Tom snorted quietly, a bitter smile on his face. That was it exactly. "If you stay in the UNSC you will go into cryo again. Every time you do there is the risk of you dying. If you don't die, you will be a liability to whatever group you are a part of, because they will need to protect you while you're vulnerable."

"Sounds like you're telling me to get out," the cadet noted bitterly. He was thus surprised when the older cadet started laughing quietly.

"Does it? Well, that's not what I'm saying. I'm just telling you what you're risking by staying in. Now I'll show you what you're gambling by getting out." She handed him a small stack of stiff paper. "Sorry they're not digital. I'm old-fashioned." Lasky blinked as he realized the papers were actual photos. Each one was a different person and there really wasn't anything cohesive about the group.

"Why are you showing me these?" he asked, holding a picture of a baby up to see it better. They weren't even really good photos. Candid pictures done by amateurs no doubt. He put the baby picture back in the pile and was about to move on when a hand stopped him. Startled, he looked up at his companion.

"Those are people who probably would have died if Lieutenant Michael Jarvis had allowed his allergy to cytoprethaline stop him from becoming an ODST. Jarvis was the person Dr. Hughes called to talk to me when he discovered my allergy. He basically had the same talk with me that I'm having with you." Carefully, she took back the photos and returned them to her pouch. "Those people were being held by Insurrectionists as hostages. Jarvis dropped behind enemy lines and managed to rescue all of them. He gave me the photos to remind me of the good that comes from staying despite the risks."

Too overwhelmed for words, Lasky leaned back and took up Faldon's star-gazing. "That's amazing," he finally forced out. "What happened to him?"

"He died a month after talking with me," she answered with a shrug, although her voice hitched slightly. "The allergy finally caught up with him and his lungs shut down. He was dead before they could get him out of the cryo tube." With an ease the brunette could only envy, she smoothly jumped to her feet and stood casually. "This isn't a game Lasky. You will be gambling with your life if you stay. But maybe by staying you'll keep other people alive." The silence stretched before the older cadet suddenly gave a barking laugh. "Listen to me. I sound like one of those really old men that think they know everything just because there's a generation or two of difference between them and you." To Tom's surprise, a fun-loving grin spread across the other's face as she looked down at him. "It's your life, Lasky. Do what you want." Again her eyes flicked to the woods and a frown crossed her face. She took a deep breath through her nose before releasing it with a very quiet growl. "You should get inside."

"Why?" the brunette asked. By then being difficult was an ingrained response. "And what is your name? I mean, your first name." The smirk she shot him was back full force and was really starting to get annoying. She shook her head before turning and casually loping away.

"Gut instinct for the first," she called, not even bothering to look over her shoulder. "Kaine for the second." She'd barely stepped off the crate when the alarm went off, making both cadets freeze in shock. Lasky had never heard the alarm before. Well, not this alarm. By the time he'd gotten to his feet, the redhead was gone, racing up the hill faster than he thought was humanly possible. He didn't even notice that he was running right after her.

"To the Tether, now!" one Marine yelled, cadets and staff racing by him as the alarm continued to blare. "This is not a drill! Let's go, let's go, let's go, come on!" It only took a moment for the cadet to lose Faldon in the crowds. At some point, he ran into Chyler and JJ, and the three of them rushed inside. Col. Mehaffey was hurrying cadets along, telling them all to get to their squads, quickly. Her eyes met the brunette's for a split second and the sight made Lasky stumble. The surge of humanity kept him moving even as he felt frozen to the spot. It was the first time he had seen fear in the Col's eyes.

"Hastati!" Orenski called, gesturing frantically. "This way! Hurry up! Right here, right here!" The squad all stumbled in around her, quickly forming a small cluster and trying very hard to stay together. "We're going to stand in line. Lasky! Chin! Let's go." Once they were all together Orenski fell into squad leader mode and took command, even as her voice shook the slightest bit. "Okay, hold tight. Stay in line."

"What is this, Insurrectionists?" Tom asked, feeling a pit open up in his stomach. His mind flashed him an image of Kaine, glaring out into the forest at an unseen target. Gut instinct, she had said. She had known the attack was coming. But how?

"I have no idea," Sully panted, fear in every line of his body. Every member of the squad was looking around, straining to make some sort of sense out of all this chaos. Orenski continued to try to calm them, or maybe she was trying to calm herself, but her words weren't helping much.

The sound of falling objects caught everyone's attention and their eyes shot up towards the glass ceiling. They watched with wide and fearful eyes as pods fell from the sky to strike the ground, soldiers emerging from those pods with weapons ready. "What the-?" Vickers breathed, hardly daring to believe what he had seen. Fear swept over the group anew as the situation crystallized painfully in their minds.

"Why are ODST's dropping here?" Sully asked, wanting to deny reality as much as he could. His voice begged for someone to tell him that he and the assumptions he'd made were wrong. Lasky knew they weren't.

"Because we're under attack." Four words that shattered whatever lingering hope or optimism they had held. More pods fell, adding to the chaos that was surrounding the academy. Orenski made a quip about the situation not being good to which Chyler replied dryly that, "ODST's dropping is never good." The pressure finally became too much to stand and Dimah snapped.

"Screw this," she said. "I can get us on this wagon." Her voice didn't waver but her eyes were so full of fear no one could doubt what had prompted the reaction.

"No, no, no, we will hold our position," Orenski ordered, seeing the very dangerous fractures in her squad. She knew they were scared, hell, she was scared too, but as squad leader, she was determined to maintain a sense of order amongst the people she was responsible for.

"Guys, come on," Dimah insisted, fear finally creeping into her voice. She could see everyone wanted to take her offer but their training held firm and no one moved to join her. "Suit yourself." She hurried away, ignoring the calls of her name behind her. In her haste, she bumped into another cadet but kept going without looking to see who. Still, her skin prickled as silver eyes followed her. Those same eyes then glanced back at the squad she'd left behind and narrowed. Things weren't going the way any of them had hoped.

Tom watched as Dimah talked her way past the marine in charge of loading the wagon. She boarded successfully and finally turned to look at them, worry on her face. Sully commented that it was taking too long and they should have taken Dimah's advice but the brunette didn't think so. Gut instinct, Faldon had said. Well, his gut instinct told him that getting on the wagon was the worst thing he could do just then.

The wagon went up as the squad watched. Their gaze quickly became horrified as right before their eyes a very large and very strange ship appeared out of nowhere. Two more quickly followed the appearance of the first and seemed to fill the sky. "What the hell are those things?" Tom breathed. Before anyone could respond, even with an "I don't know," the first ship shot right at the Tether and struck the ascending wagon, blowing it to pieces. The Tether swayed for a few moments, no longer having the support that it had been built on, and then the base collapsed, imploding upon itself and falling upon the corridor where everyone was waiting. "Go!" Lasky yelled, but for some, he was already too late.

In a panic, every human turned and ran. Those near the front never stood a chance, as the corridor collapsed around them, smothering them instantly. Others fell as they ran and everyone else was too busy escaping to help, leaving their fallen comrades to be buried and, ultimately, to die. Tom tried to hurry, but his lungs hadn't recovered from the cryo and he was struggling. He nearly fell at one point but hands appeared under his arm and hurriedly drug him along. In the flashes of light that were available, he thought it was Kaine but he wasn't sure.

He was eventually released and crumpled just at the edge of the collapsed section of the corridor. Coughing through the dust, he struggled to his knees only to discover Chyler and Orenski beside him. He was attempting to get his bearing and stave off the faint he could feel coming when something struck the window beside him. Three pairs of very frightened eyes instantly snapped towards the glass to see a slumped, dead body leaning against it. Then out of the gloom, like one of those cliché horror movies from ancient Earth times, came a monster, illuminated with violet light. It shouted in a strange tongue before suddenly cleaving the statue of Corbulo in two with what seemed to be a sword made of pure energy. Suddenly, something clicked in the brunette's mind. He'd seen the creature before. It was the same as the image reflected in the HUD of that soldier from Sully's vids.

"Tom, come on," Chyler said, quickly pulling the cadet away from the window and his thoughts. He stumbled to his feet, still in shock. How many more surprises were going to blindside them tonight?

"What was that?" he asked, the question falling from numb lips. He knew he was going into shock - literally. Cadmon had told him about it once. The human mind could only take so many surprises before it just shut down. It was pretty safe to say that he was quickly approaching that point. Orenski's voice gave him a focus and he struggled to catch up with the conversation when something suddenly struck the roof above them. Tom didn't even bother looking up as he started running again, wanting to believe it was just rubble from the Tether but hearing screams that abruptly ended with crashes. ODST's were still dropping in and he was afraid that some weren't even making it to the ground.

The three burst out of the ruined hall and chaos swallowed them whole. Dust and smoke were everywhere, restricting vision to just a few feet. People were yelling and screaming and running and shooting. Bolts of purple and green flew about freely, accompanied by the sharp reports of rifle fire that came from everywhere. Every now and then a creature would appear through the gloom, overpowering anyone unfortunate enough to get near it. Orenski was long gone, vanished into the belly of the creature that the cadet suddenly realized was war. Chyler was also gone, lost somewhere amongst the sea of pain and death. Lost and not sure where to go, the brunette started calling, “Chyler! Hastati!” trying to find his friends. Then a silhouette that Lasky knew well appeared.

"Get to the dorms!" Col Mehaffey yelled, pointing in the direction he should go. Her name fell from his lips but was swallowed up by the greater roars of the beast. He wasn't even sure she had actually heard him or if she was yelling for the benefit of all cadets in the area. "Go, go, go, go!" she screamed, actually meeting his gaze for a split second before four purple spikes suddenly embedded themselves in her, silencing her forever.

That was it. That was the last surprise he could take. Tom could feel his mind deactivate as he stood there, numbly. He saw everything around him. The ODST's fighting. The monsters appearing and disappearing. The bullets and bolts that came disturbingly close to him. None of it mattered, though.

"Tom!" Chyler's voice destroyed the bubble as she suddenly appeared and pulled him after her. "Come on, let's go!" The pair weaved themselves through the fighting, picking up JJ as they went, occasionally hearing people yell out for groups to fall back.

By some miracle, they all made it to the dorms and ran into Orenski, Sully, and Vickers within. Most of the room doors were already closed and locked, leaving the squad in despair until Sully found that Lasky's door was ajar. The six hurried in, instinctively placing something to their back and trying very hard to catch their breaths. Except for their ragged breathing, silence reigned until Sullivan shattered it.

"Oh my god," he said, his voice catching in the back of his throat to give it a sob like quality. "Dimah, she's dead."

"Col Mehaffey," the brunette breathed, adding a name to the list they all knew was very long. Thank god they stopped there, no one wanting to speculate on just how many people they knew were now dead.

"Yeah, well, we will be too if we don't do something!" Vickers nearly yelled, quickly coming apart at the seams as the stress piled on. Sully attempted to activate Tom's COM but to no avail as all communications had been knocked out by the creatures. The moment was solidified for them all when Vickers stated, "It's a whole new war."

A whole new war. Again, Kaine's eyes flashed through Lasky's memory. Her glare at the forest, her stargazing, her restlessness. A whole new war. A war she had sensed and had been attempting to locate.

No, that didn't make any sense. Humans couldn't sense war. There were stories about animals that could sense natural disasters before they happen but humans were never among them and besides, a war was not a natural disaster. Yet the cadet's gut kept informing him that yes, she could sense it. She knew it was coming. And if she knew it was coming, maybe she also knew how to survive it.

A terrified scream from the hallway snapped the brunette back to reality, freezing his blood. Everyone's hearts stopped when the scream was suddenly cut off. "That sounded close," Vickers exclaimed, earning the title of Captain Obvious in Tom's mind. But that was a thought for a different and safer time. Lasky carefully peeked around his door into the hallway only to be met by a walking nightmare. Just down the hall stood one of those monsters, a cadet's body speared on its sword. It shouted something as it shoved the body free before, literally, vanishing in front of the cadet's very wide eyes.

"It's invisible," he said, his voice nearly numb. It had gotten to the point where he was positive nothing could surprise him anymore.

"What the hell’s invisible?" Vickers asked dumbly.

"One of those things is inside and it is invisible," the brunette snarled. It took a moment for everyone to process his words. During that moment he looked out into the hall again. Everything was still but then there was a slight distortion in the air just before one of the doors shattered. The creature must be checking each room for survivors - and Tom's room wasn't that far away.

"Let's go," he said quickly, his mind already racing ahead to make plans. "We need to get out of here." He wasn't entirely sure where they would go but he knew they would be helpless if they waited for the monster to come to them.

"No, no, no, no, screw that," Sully denied instantly, eyes wide in fear. "We stay here."

"Where are we gonna go?" JJ challenged, trying to control the shaking in his hands. The whole squad was falling apart, torn between staying and making a break for it. Tom spun around, looking to the open door. For a moment, just a brief moment, he could have sworn he'd heard Faldon's voice in the hall. Great, now he was totally losing it.

"No, no, no," Orenski finally said, having something to work from at last. "We're gonna-we're gonna go to the training room, we're gonna get decked out, we're gonna get some weapons." The hall was still echoing with the tinkling of glass as the monster took out another door. Lasky wasn't sure who to watch, shifting back and forth between paying attention to Orenski and looking over his shoulder. If only he could say if he was watching for the monster to appear or Faldon.

"I'll take point," JJ said, finally stopping the shakes. Like Orenski, he could function once he had a clear idea of what was needed from him. So long as he had a plan, everything would be just fine.

"Come on, come on, line up!" Orenski ordered, voice starting to shake as the crashes got closer and closer. The squad scrambled to obey, falling into a line behind JJ. "Alright," she finally breathed, falling into her own place while the brunette chose to take the rear. "Tell us when. Tell us when, alright?" For the half second that there was calm he wondered why Orenski kept repeating herself. Wasn't telling them once enough?

JJ peered around the door frame, watching the seemingly empty hallway. For a moment everything was still and he wondered if the monster had possibly passed them by. Then the door next to their hiding place shattered and the thing went in. "Now," he said, quickly ducking into the hallway, the others scrambling after him. The monster roared as they ran through the halls, following JJ as he frantically tried to not slip. When they came to an intersection he paused, knowing both ways would take them to the training room but unsure of which was faster. Behind him, he heard Orenski tell him to go so he quickly chose one path and started on it - only to pause a few steps later despite his squad leader's continued orders to go. He couldn't see anything except empty hallway but he could feel it. Something, something breathing, was right in front of him. Realization dawned and JJ knew he was about to die.

In the flash of a moment, a sword of energy appeared, skewering JJ and lifting him up into the air. "JJ!" Vickers screamed; complete terror dripping from his voice. Lasky could only stare for a long moment at the suspended body, knowing JJ was already dead. A breeze behind him, as if someone had rushed past, is what snapped him from his paralysis.

"Oh my god!" he yelled, reaching forward to grab Chyler's shoulder just as the body dropped. That shattered the spell for everyone and they broke back into a run, scrambling back a few steps to go the other way, yelling, "Go," so quickly that they couldn't be sure who was yelling or who they were yelling too. The monster yelled and followed, not bothering to chase as it was already sure of its victory, leaving behind JJ's body, broken and bleeding on the floor.

The training room doors suddenly loomed before them, already slightly open so that Orenski just had to use her shoulder to push them apart so they could all stumble in. "Lasky, send the distress beacon," she ordered, heading straight to the lockers where their gear was. "Chyler, help me get the weapons." The others followed her example while Tom instead stopped at the control panel, furiously pushing in codes while the rest of the group attempted to unlock the lockers. It only took a couple of seconds for them to realize the codes weren't working and the lockers were staying locked, much to Chyler's horror. Voices raised again, some encouraging Chyler to try the codes one more time, while Sully called for the brunette to close the door. He repeated the order when it appeared that the cadet hadn't heard him.

"Yeah, I'm trying!" Tom yelled, frantically attempting to keep from going back into shock. There were more exclamations of dismay from the squad as the lockers stubbornly refused to budge. The doors finally started to close with a tone, leaving the cadet to return to his original mission of sending a distress beacon. "Mayday! Mayday, mayday. This is Cadet Thomas Lasky. I repeat, mayday! Mayday! There's been an attack on Corbulo Academy! Extensive casualties. I repeat, extensive casualties!" Somewhere in the distance he could hear Orenski mention something about land navs but he was focused on the screen which flickered in a strange way, reminding him of when AI's hacked into programs. "I-I think the beacon's down as well." After all, there had been no reply, no response. Just that flicker which could mean any number of things.

"We're dead," Sully said, quickly approaching the numbness of shock himself. In a moment of terror induced hysteria, the brunette wanted to ask Sully if he was always so optimistic but he managed to hold his tongue. Orenski had her hands in her hair, trying to come up with a plan, repeating the word 'think' like a mantra.

"We can't stay in here April," Tom finally said, voice gentle to avoid her going into a full meltdown. He remembered Cadmon talking about times like this. Times when newbies were thrown into combat and totally lost grip on themselves. Cadmon had said those people needed a very special type of person to help them. A person that could get them refocused, yes, but also one that would allow the newbie to vent. A person that could take their abuse and not become offended. Orenski needed that now and so he'd have to be the one to help.

"We can't go out there," she yelled at him, looking at him as though he'd lost his mind. Before the brunette could respond, everyone's attention was grabbed by Vickers as he grunted, slamming a missile round into the locker grating. He repeated the action several times but the grating didn't even dent. The others yelled encouragement, or maybe not depending on how you looked at it, but then there was an even louder crash and everyone froze, realizing it hadn't come from Vickers. It came from the door. They all turned and stared for a few long moments, wondering if it was even worth it to continue to try and survive. Another crash. Tom's eyes noticed the screen near the door flickered again. The terror was clearly affecting him as he could have sworn he saw a face in that moment. "Hide," Orenski breathed. Another spell was broken as they all scrambled to obey; Lasky, Sully, Orenski, and Chyler going one way while Vickers went another.

Of course, Vickers quickly realized he wasn't where he wanted to be and turned around to join the others as the monster's strange language swept over them but sparks from a live wire stopped his progress. Instead, he ducked behind one of the large lockers as the thing hit the door again. Repeatedly he would glance around the edge of the locker to see Lasky on the other side, gesturing for him to join them, only to duck back behind the metal as the door was further abused. Finally, it was too late as a final hit resulted in the door flying off the hinges, allowing the creature access to their hiding place. Instantly, everyone moved farther back, trying to remain in the shadows as they knew they would soon have company. In his panic, Vickers' breathing became painfully loud, alerting everyone to his location. Tom leaned around the locker, catching Vickers' eye and held a finger to his mouth, telling Vickers to shh. A nod was the only reply before footsteps approached, driving them back into hiding.

Even though it was invisible, the brunette was still aware of the thing's progress. Its breath disturbed the steam that was leaking from pipes and it jostled the fallen door. When the footsteps had reached the far back of the room he knew they had their only chance. Turning to the others, he started nodding for them to move further towards the front, mouthing the word 'go' in case they didn't understand. When they hesitated he took the lead, ducking under fallen beams and trying his best to avoid the live wires that still sparked at random times. Crawling on the ground, he made his way to the open space just before the doors, Chyler on his heels. Eventually, all four made it through and huddled close together.

"Lasky, go for the door," Sully whispered, managing to sound like he wasn't totally scared out of his mind. Tom shook his head, said something about not leaving Vickers while looking over his shoulder in the direction he knew the cadet was hiding. Chyler asked where the creature was, a good thing to know before they tried to make a break for it. Knowing he couldn't risk looking around the edge, the brunette lay down so he was looking underneath the rows of lockers. For a moment everything was still and he realized it was always that way just before something really bad happened. True to form, a puddle not three feet away from them was disturbed as an invisible foot stepped in it. Lasky scrambled back up, eyes wide. "It's right there."

Another wire spark revealed the creature for the briefest of moments, outlining its massive form. Then the footsteps resumed, approaching their hiding place while that horrible sword again appeared, glowing with hot, blue energy. They all leaned back but didn't bother trying to get away. It was pointless to resist anymore. Even when the thing revealed itself, they didn't move. It was almost a relief to accept death.

"Hey!" Vickers yelled, stepping out from around the locker, missile raised to throw. "Guys, run!" Before he could throw the round the creature shot him, catching him off guard and killing him instantly. Sully cried out for Vickers before throwing his hand across his mouth, realizing he had given them away.

Sure enough, the creature came around the locker, yelling at them in its strange tongue, sword held low and ready. They had no clue what it was saying but the intent was clear. They were going to die. It laughed, coiling itself in preparation to strike-

-before suddenly screaming and falling down dead, the knife being pulled out of its neck. In its place stood the tallest damn robot the cadet's had ever seen. It stepped forward, turning lights on and sweeping a beam over each face. Then, to their even further astonishment, it spoke. "We don't have much time. Let's go." Tom could only blink and nod.

The cadet's scrambled to their feet, Chyler instantly rushing back to check on Vickers. It only took her a moment to realize he was dead. Meanwhile, the robot got on its radio, calling someone. "Kelly, inform command I have four survivors. Take your team north. Rendezvous at evac Alpha for Pelican extraction. We'll meet you there. Chief out." It turned back around, observing the cadets again. Tom was very disconcerted by the fact that he couldn't see its face. Hell, he didn't even know if it had a face. For all he knew, all that lay behind the mask was a mass of wires and circuit boards. But even robots were expected to answer certain questions.

"How did you find us?" he asked, wondering if by chance Kaine had something to do with this. Gah, why did he keep thinking about her? A cadet he hadn't even spoken to until the day before and didn't know the name of until maybe an hour ago.

"A distress beacon," it answered as though the answer should have been obvious. Honestly, it should have been and the brunette knew it as he looked away. He heard Sully ask why the robot had come for them. "You're the only survivors." Tom's head snapped back, his eyes wide. They were the only survivors from the whole school? Sully put words to his thoughts but the answer floored them all.

"On the planet."

The mere idea was so absurd that they couldn't process it. There were several thousand people in the school alone, millions across the planet. It was impossible for there to be four survivors out of an entire world. However, the robot gave them no time to contemplate the thought. "We've got fifteen minutes to get to the evac point. Armor up."

"It-It's locked," Sully informed him, still reeling from the revelation. The robot looked his way before walking over to one of the lockers, ripping the grating off and tossing it away as if it was nothing. The crash of the grating was loud enough that the cadets didn't hear the quiet footsteps but the robot did. It whirled around, lights flared and gun leveled at the door.

"Holy shit!" Faldon yelled, stepping back, eyes wide. "What the hell is that?!"

"Kaine!" Tom said, suddenly feeling better. There were other survivors out there! This robot thing was wrong; they weren't the last. Although...the senior cadet looked like she'd been through Hell. There was dirt and blood streaked across her face; some of the blood was clearly hers and some a strange purple color that had to be from aliens. Her uniform was torn and burned and she was obviously favoring her left arm. All in all, it was a miracle she was still standing, though the power of the glare on her face gave no indication to the pain she had to be feeling.

The redhead glanced at Lasky in surprise, though her face stayed hard and she still kept a wary eye on the robot that had yet to lower its weapon. "Lasky, Orenski, what is going on?" She glared at the robot. "And you, put that down! I'm human, in case you haven't noticed. Save your bullets for the nightmare monsters outside." The gun was lowered slowly and everyone knew the robot was observing this new addition before it visibly shook its thoughts away.

"No time," it said, still gruff while remaining unruffled. "Armor up with the others; we have to move." For a moment, Orenski was sure Faldon would refuse the orders. She was, after all, infamous for doing things her own way. There wasn't a single officer who didn't loathe getting stuck with her for any type of lesson. So it was a great surprise when the redhead just nodded, quickly entering the room and approaching the open locker.

In no time they were all suited up and moving through the halls. The robot took the lead, Kaine directly behind it, Lasky on the right side, Orenski on the left, Sully covering the rear, and Chyler in the middle. It was a standard formation, made slightly awkward by the redhead's extra presence, but she managed to slide in seamlessly. They were all silent as they moved through the hall, the only lights to be seen coming from their guns and the robot's armor. Around them, wires were sparking and parts of the building were giving into gravity, collapsing where it stood. The dust was thick and the brunette's already damaged lungs were struggling, resulting in a few coughing spells. During the first one, the robot had turned to face him but Kaine had slid between them, silently rebuking the thing. "Here," she whispered, offering the cadet some water. After a drink, Tom's throat was soothed and they moved on, the robot ignoring the following coughs.

Suddenly the robot stopped dead, lifting a hand in the signal to cease movement. Faldon was already frozen, having stopped in the same half moment as the robot, weapon up and ready. Her eyes were trained down the hall, seeming to see things they could not. Actually, that wouldn't be a surprise at all.

"Stay quiet," the robot ordered, turning to face them. "Do not leave, no matter what you hear outside."

"Wait," Tom said, a thought popping into his mind. "Who are you?"

"Call me Master Chief," the robot answered. Without waiting for any more questions, the robot turned back around and moved down the hall, vanishing into the darkness.

The stress overwhelmed them again and Chyler broke formation, sitting down while leaning against a wall. "I knew those ONI vids were bad news," Sully moaned as Lasky went to kneel beside Chyler. "Now we're the only ones alive." Orenski tried to cut him off but there was no stopping him now. "What the hell is going on? We're all following a giant robot." Faldon twitched. "Who knows if he's even coming back?"

"He's gotta come back," the brunette said, looking into the darkness as if he could will Master Chief to reappear. "I believe him." Chyler was crying by that point, so the cadet gave his attention to her, trying to stop a mental meltdown from occurring.

Sully took a breath to retort but was stopped by the older cadet grabbing his shoulder. "Sully, shut up," she growled, eyes sparking. She grabbed the weapon he'd lowered, shoving it at his chest. "Gear up, soldier, or I'll save these bastards the trouble and shoot you myself." Tom watched her closely as Sully quickly started settling his gear. Maybe it was just because more time had gone by since the attack, maybe he hadn't seen her initial panic, but he couldn't help but notice how calm she was. The four of them were falling to pieces but she looked barely ruffled. For a moment their eyes met and she raised a brow at him, challenging him to speak his thoughts. He chose to look away instead.

A very loud thud down the hall startled them all into stillness. Footsteps started coming towards them, loud and lumbering. Orenski had her weapon trained down the hall but was shaking so bad the brunette seriously doubted she would be able to hit anything. By comparison, the calmest of the group was Faldon, who kept her weapon in a low-ready position. She was still tense and watchful but didn't seem overly concerned.

Then the lights flicked on, revealing Master Chief. The hall echoed with sighs of relief although Lasky wasn't the only one to notice that the redhead snorted in amusement instead, although she scowled soon after. “Couldn't turn the lights on before and save us all from heart attacks, could you?” she chided.

The Chief looked her way again before turning away, clearly ignoring her. Before they could ask where the robot had gone it asked, "Who's the best shot here?"

"You, probably?" Sully answered uncertainly. Orenski glanced at the older cadet, knowing her records on the range, but the glare she received in return was enough to quell her tongue. She wasn't sure what the redhead's deal was with the robot but she knew said redhead wasn't above kicking her ass, even in an emergency situation.

"Chyler is," Tom said, slightly proud. The female in question nodded and echoed that she was good.

"I am too," Orenski chimed in, drawing the robot's gaze to herself. It stared at her for a moment before swiveling over to Tom.

"Cadet Lasky, can you drive a Warthog?" The brunette straightened up, shock clearly written on his face. Warthogs were reserved for officers and their aides. Cadets never even got to ride in one unless it was an emergency. Granted, this counted as an emergency, but what sort of question was that?

However, the robot kept waiting so the cadet finally had to respond, "Yeah, sure." Another snort from Faldon. At least someone was amused.

"Good," the robot said. "That's where we're headed. Shooters on the left and right, driver in the center." Everyone nodded, shifting back into formation. "Stay close to me. It's your best chance of survival." They all noticed that it said nothing about guaranteed survival. It was pointless to promise things that could not be ensured.

They silently moved down the hall, finally stepping outside the walls. Tom instantly regretted that step, as they were confronted by a large field of dead bodies. He had to fight down the urge to hurl as he looked at all the twisted, mutilated bodies of people he knew. Cadets he had trained with. Teachers he had studied under. Officers he had busted his ass to impress. ODST that had jumped feet first into hell just to save them. They were all dead, sprawled across the grounds like a morbid work of art. There had been no discrimination on the part of the monsters. They killed everyone, regardless of age, rank, gender, or race.

"Lasky," Kaine called, voice barely noticeable but still loud enough to catch the brunette's attention and make him turn to face her. "Focus on the now. We can mourn later." If anyone else had said those words, the cadet would have lashed out against them but he found himself unable when he met her gaze. Those silver eyes were filled with pain and understanding. She was just as hurt by the scene but was forcing herself to continue. He had to do the same.

The progress across the grounds was a very slow and very tense journey. Every little sound seemed amplified, resulting in a very jumpy group of cadets. Master Chief never even twitched, carrying steadily on, but it was a robot so that was to be expected.

At long last, the group reached the last stretch, the Warthog at the end of the path. But Tom was worried. The last few hundred yards Faldon had become very twitchy. Her gaze kept flicking up to the top of a building across the parade grounds. It was reminiscent enough of how she had acted on the crate hours ago that the brunette also became twitchy. Twice he opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but both times she would glance his way, silently telling him to keep quiet. Each time he obeyed.

Of course, it was all too good to be true. Sully, who had been lagging behind a bit, shakily asked, “Where did they all go?” By the time the sound of the shot reached their ears, Sully was already dropping with a cry, the needle round cutting right through his leg. Another weapon report made him look towards the building Kaine had been glancing at for so long. Time seemed to slow as the next round came towards him, trained on his head. Before he could even comprehend the fact that he was about to die, Master Chief's arm blocked his view and the needle shattered on the armor.

That needle was the only warning they received before heavy fire had them all, minus Chief, diving behind the wall for cover. "Get down!" Chief yelled, throwing Sully behind the wall to join them. The barrage continued, forcing them all to stay low while Chief stood strong, ignoring the needles that shattered ineffectively against the metal. "Get to the Hog!" it ordered, pointing down the path. "I'll draw their fire." A close explosion distracted him, but when he looked back the Master Chief was gone.

"Chief!" he yelled, panic invading his mind as he wondered if he was losing it even more. But the rain of projectiles wasn't easing up so he couldn't afford to dwell on the thoughts.

"Cover me!" Orenski yelled, moving into a better fighting position. Faldon responded, yelling something that sounded like 'Working on it!' as she carefully looked over the wall to fire at the offending creatures. "Lasky, go!" the squad leader yelled, taking a position that would allow her to cover the path to the Warthog.

"You okay?" he asked Chyler, noticing her freezing up again. She nodded, even though it was shaky.

"I've got Sully," she told him, pulling herself back together. "Go!" Tom nodded back, hoping this wouldn't be the last time he saw her.

"Moving! Cover me!" the cadet yelled before jumping to his feet and taking off down the path. It was only about a hundred meters to the Hog but it was the longest hundred meters he had ever run. The needles flew by him, interspersed with some green stuff that hissed and spits like plasma. He could hear Orenski and Faldon continuing to shoot, giving him as much cover as they could.

It felt like years passed, but Tom eventually reached the Warthog. Ducking behind it for cover, he noticed a body hanging out. He wouldn't be able to get in with that body in the way, so he hurried over to pull it away. His heart nearly stopped when he realized that he was tugging on General Black. Then the moment passed and he resumed his pulls. In moments like this, the living had priority and there was no time to give respect to the dead. That would have to wait until he wasn't being shot at anymore.

Quickly swinging into the driver seat, the cadet realized he had his own set of troubles. The Warthog did not want to start. Granted, he wasn't entirely sure how to start the thing in the first place, but he knew it had something to do with pushing buttons and giving it gas. This seemed more a power problem as the lights kept fading in and out. Groaning, he kicked the machine in frustration. Couldn't one thing go right?

Growling curses under his breath, the cadet was only vaguely aware of a strange cry that echoed across the grounds. It sounded like a cat getting its tail stepped on. Not that it mattered much, with the Warthog remaining stubbornly dead. He had resorted to attempting to hot wire the thing in hopes that it would make the vehicle start. With a final twist of the wires and a passionate, "Come on!" the Hog finally roared to life. Relief swept over him, but the screams of the creatures made him look up. Three sharp weapon reports rang out over the already chaotic battle and three monsters fell. Startled, the brunette turned to see Master Chief running across one of the upper ramparts, pistol out and firing. With a calmness that could only be found in robots and AI's, it ran along, taking out a monster with every shot. The scene was so amazing that all the cadets paused their actions to watch.

Orenski soon appeared, nearly throwing Sully into the back section of the Warthog's cab. It was cramped at the best of times, but the injured cadet cried out as his leg hit the back. Nothing about this situation was ideal, but he wasn't keen on the idea of suffering more.

Chief continued its devastating fight, running to the end of the rampart before leaping off, barely missing an explosion. Landing expertly right behind Chyler, it pointed to the Hog. "Go!" it said sharply, leaving no room for argument. Chyler ran, Faldon hard on her heels. While Chyler swung into the front next to Lasky, Kaine scrambled into the back, taking care to not step on Sully who was nearly delirious with pain. Orenski climbed in beside Chyler, hanging half out of the vehicle. Chief sprung onto the back, taking control of the gun. "Drive!" it yelled, bracing itself. It was the only excuse the cadet needed to slam the gas and the Hog shot forward.

In seconds they were lost among the trees. The Hog was much more powerful than the brunette had expected and he fought to keep it on the road. They swerved wildly, managing to get out of one rut only to land themselves in another. In the back Sully groaned, his wounded leg loudly protesting the rough treatment it had received thus far. "Lasky!" Orenski yelled, having to grip the side of the warthog as it swerved again. The vehicle had only been built for three people after all and only two were supposed to be seated.

"It's harder than it looks," Tom yelled back, trying to avoid another crater. He didn't remember the road being so rough but then realized there had probably been fighting out this way as well.

Sully screamed again as a sharp jerk from Tom banged his legs against the seats. "Hang in there Sully," Orenski called even though she knew full well that words were meaningless. Kaine hunkered down as much as she could, trying to hold Sully's body still so he would not injure himself anymore.

"Sorry," the brunette called back to his friend, slowly getting the warthog mostly straight.

"You're doing fine," Chyler assured him. "Just keep it steady." Lasky wanted to retort but was cut off.

"Bear right, cadet," Chief ordered. "There's an exit directly ahead." Nodding, even though the robot couldn't see, the brunette spun the wheel to guide the Warthog onto the other path. The maneuver went smoothly, so he knew something else had to screw up. When the redhead snapped around to stare behind them a few seconds later he wasn't surprised.

"Something's following us," she hissed, pulling her weapon up in a ready position. Chyler and Orenski followed suit while he pressed the accelerator harder. The forest was flying by them, but it wasn't fast enough. It was never fast enough.

"Faster, cadet," Master Chief ordered, settling itself further at the gun. "Four minutes to the Pelican. We have to get off the planet." Despite his better judgment and the subconscious knowledge that a hot-wired Warthog couldn't handle top speeds, Tom pushed the accelerator to the floor. Their speed increased phenomenally, to the point where the cadet almost didn't have enough time to realize a grenade had just been thrown at them. With a yell he spun the wheel, trying desperately to avoid the glowing blue orb, but there was a reason the vehicles were called Warthogs and their lack of agility and maneuverability was part of it.

The grenade went off, and while the brunette managed to avoid the main explosion, the Hog took the plasma hit, severely damaging the energy relays. The explosion also threw up a lot of dust, blinding them all to the oncoming attack.

For the second time in minutes, the air was filled with pink needles and green plasma. Chief immediately responded by firing the large gun, swinging freely to cover both sides of the road. Chyler and Orenski also opened fire while Lasky struggled to keep the Hog moving straight. In the back, they could all hear Sully's cries of pain until the older cadet physically shifted him so that she was under him and could wrap her body around his, holding him still and shielding him from the worst of the bumps. It also took her out of the fight. "Controlled bursts," Master Chief called to them, taking out another creature. "Don't spray and pray." He swung to cover Chyler's side while yelling to Orenski, "Cadet, two o'clock." She lifted her weapon instantly, firing in the direction he'd called. Though she couldn't see anything she could still hear the creatures scream as they were hit.

Some needles were getting dangerously close to the cadet, making him lean farther and farther into the cab. Whatever these creatures were, they understood that the fastest way to stop the vehicle was to kill the driver. “Chyler, cover!” he yelled, leaning as far in as he felt safe doing.

"Covering!" Chyler replied, leaning over him and out of the Warthog to shoot the creatures on her side. With cool precision she shot them both, striking the one area their shields didn't cover.

And just like that, the fight ended. Everything vanished. The projectiles, the monsters, the yelling. It was as still and quiet as it had been before the attack. Chief took advantage of the quiet and quickly got onto its radio, knowing they would be a few moments late. "Kelly, track our position for evac."

"I think we're clear," Orenski called, not seeing any more adversaries. Chyler crawled back into the Hog, sighing in relief. Despite the warning beep from the hog's power system, all the cadets managed tiny smiles. Even Faldon managed a happy sigh, though she maintained her grip on the prone Sully.

"Good job," he told Chyler, risking a second to look away from the road and glance at her. That risk cost them as he didn't spot the monster in time and ended up running into it, jarring them all and wrenching another yell from Sully. The good news was they killed the creature on impact. The bad news was it was enough of a shock to stall the Hog and bring them all to a screeching halt.

The Chief leapt off the vehicle as soon as it stopped, already knowing it was pointless to try and resurrect the thing. "Everyone okay?" Kaine had asked before Chief suddenly appeared beside the opening. Wordlessly, she grabbed Sully and lifted him up slightly so that Chief could carefully pull him out and carry him to the side of the road. Orenski remained on guard, cursing herself for lowering her weapon earlier while Tom tried desperately to restart the Hog.

Chief set Sully down on the side of the road, careful to not jostle the leg but that was the only care it took. "Hand me the biofoam and man the gun," it called to Orenski who scrambled to obey. Lasky continued to struggle with the Hog while the redhead crawled out and took stood guard, knowing it was pointless to stay inside. The Warthog was dead and wasn't coming back. "This will help you walk," Chief told Sully as it filled the wound with the biofoam. It was obvious that the action caused Sully pain but he didn't try to move away.

"Tom?" Chyler said, voice layered in shock. The brunette didn't hear her but Kaine did, turning to look back at the vehicle where the two cadets were still seated. The forest was echoing with the calls of the creatures, but it was distant enough to worry Faldon and Master Chief. No way were they getting out that easy. "Tom?!" Chyler asked louder, finally catching Lasky's attention. He turned to look at her, a question on his tongue, before looking down where her hands were hovering over her abdomen - and the broken off spike that was embedded in her. "Tom."

"Chief!" he yelled, snatching the robot's attention back to him as Chyler screamed in pain. "Chief! Chyler's been hit!" The robot hurried over, leaving the older cadet to stand guard over Sully. It checked the wound quickly only to report that they were out of biofoam. Her only chance was to get her to the Pelican for some medical treatment.

"Sir!" Faldon yelled, catching Chief's attention for herself. The woods behind them were bathed in a sickly green glow which could only signal something bad coming their way. Around them they could hear the sounds of the other creatures rushing in the opposite direction, retreating.

"They're retreating," Orenski said, looking around but not yet noticing the glow behind them. "Why would they do that now?!"

"We're being hunted," Chief answered, gauging how close the monster was to their position. "Keep moving north," it told them all, but the order was mostly for Lasky and Kaine, as they were the only two to consistently keep their heads. "You'll see my team. Run as fast as you can and don't stop for anything. Including me." With those words he raced off, intent on stopping the thing from reaching the cadets. Tom and the redhead leapt into action, Lasky and Orenski supporting Chyler between them while the older cadet helped Sully to his feet.

"We've got to get her somewhere," Orenski stated, trying to ignore the roar of the creature coming towards them.

"The blind," Sully suggested, remembering the small structure that they used during combat exercises. Surely there were medical supplies there if they would be anywhere in the woods.

"Let's go by-," Orenski started to say but was interrupted by a roar. They all turned to see a creature towering over Master Chief.

"Guys, go!" Tom yelled. The five turned and ran as fast as they could with two cripples heading straight into the woods. Behind them rang the sounds of battle, roars from the creature and the reports of Chief's weapon as it was fired. The terrain was rough, causing them to stumble several times but none were willing to slow down, though Faldon glanced back several times.

"Sully, you with us?" the brunette called back, worried about losing his friend. Said friend moaned back an affirmative, gritting his teeth as Kaine helped him jump over a small log. He knew he was slowing them down, but the older cadet kept pace with him, so he wasn't as afraid as he could have been.

They finally reached the blind and hurried inside. Orenski propped her weapon against one of the walls, using it to light the area as she searched for any type of medical supply while Chyler was laid down on the floor. She started coughing, her breathing raspy from all the blood that was filling her lungs, but the fit ended as Faldon carefully propped her up on a pack, opening the airways slightly. Grunting, the injured cadet tugged at her helmet, trying to remove it so that she could rest comfortably. Tom had to help her. "April, stun rounds," Sully suggested, remembering how he was always numb after getting shot by one of the damn things. Hopefully, it would be enough to take the edge off of Chyler's pain. But even though Orenski opened up a few of the rounds and poured the liquid into the wound, they could all see that the pain was not affected.

"You're doing great. Hang in there, Chyler," the brunette encouraged as his friend was gasping against the pain. "Hang in there!" Outside the blind, the older cadet stood guard, her eyes trained on the dark woods. She could hear the cadet's rattled breathing and knew the situation was hopeless. She and her fellows were all too familiar with that type of sound, having heard it every time there was a training exercise against marines. Their trainer's had called it the Death Rattle. Unless there was a hospital nearby, that sound was always followed by death.

Gathering the last of her strength, Chyler reached for her dog tags and yanked until the chain broke. Lasky started shaking his head even before she handed them to him, trying to deny what he knew she was saying. "It’s okay, Tom," she tried to soothe him. "I'm sorry." Tom shook his head harder; refusing to believe what he knew was true. He begged her to stay with him, even knowing she was too far gone already.

And then she was gone. No fanfare, no trumpets, no big finale. Just gone. Forever.

"Chyler!" he called, holding on to her hand as though it was his only lifeline. Tears fell as he called for her again. His grief was so great, Orenski had to stand and turn away, giving him as much privacy as she could. They all turned away, knowing it was a moment they could not intrude on. That was how the Master Chief found them. the redhead acknowledged it with a short nod as it approached the blind and it paused, observing her again. She met its gaze, not caring if she gave herself away in that moment. Eventually, it moved on, kneeling beside Tom, already knowing that the female cadet had not made it.

"I'm sorry," it said, true emotion simulated in its voice. Kaine glanced back, wondering just what had happened to allow the Chief to feel sympathy. That had never been its strong point. But then the moment passed and the robot was back to business. "I need your ammo, cadets. It took everything I had to bring that thing down."

"We don't have any," Sully told him, shifting the weight off his injured leg.

"Just stun rounds, sir," Orenski confirmed, voice rough with the tears she could not shed. Silently, Lasky reached into his pouch and pulled out a frag grenade that he had grabbed on a whim back at CAMS. He handed it to the Chief, still not looking away from Chyler's body.

"Thanks," the robot told him but received no response. A noise from the forest made them all jump. "There's another one. Move! Now!" It ran off, Orenski grabbing her weapon and following with Sully on her heels. Faldon also moved in that direction, but stopped and looked back at the motionless cadet.

"You have to leave her, Lasky," she said gently, knowing how close he was to breaking. "I'm sorry." The creature roared again, closer and very angry. In the distance, they could hear Sully calling for the brunette to follow, but it still took a moment for the cadet to get to his feet. Trapped in a daze, he stumbled in the direction the others had gone, pausing once to look at himself in the reflective surface of the blind. He remembered doing the same thing only a couple of days ago after being shot by Orenski during that exercise. It seemed like a lifetime ago. He couldn't believe that the young man he'd seen then was the same person as this broken shell that he saw now. But then Kaine grabbed his shoulder, pulling his attention away from the wall. No words were spoken aloud, but he still understood her and nodded before turning and running into the trees once more.

They caught up with the others in no time, Master Chief in the lead while Orenski ran in the back, making sure they didn't lose Sully. The sounds of the creature were getting steadily closer, to the point of the ground shaking with every step it took. A shot was fired in their direction, missing them but too close for comfort. Their progress suddenly halted as they reached a ravine that none of the cadets could remember. They were just about to figure out a new plan when they were washed in the light of the creature, taking that option away. With yells, they jumped; Lasky, Orenski, and Sully landing hard and awkward while Faldon and Chief landed firmly, hardly fazed. "There," the Chief ordered, pointing to a hollow under the ravine large enough for them all to hide in. They all obeyed without thought, trembling as the thing got ever closer. In an attempt to remain hidden as long as possible, they extinguished all lights and Chief got back on its radio. "Kelly! Negative, need more time. Cannot make it to the rendezvous." Tom's eyes went wide, noticing that Chief was holding the grenade at the ready. "You have to hold the Pelican." Kaine watched the Chief closely, knowing that statement wasn't going to go over well. "I won't leave them," Master Chief snapped, obviously angry at the mere suggestion. "Chief out." Faldon's quiet snort was covered by the creature's grunt. Yeah, she knew Kelly wasn't going to like it.

"I'll engage," Chief told the cadets, ignoring the redhead's instant glare. "Get to the Pelican as fast as you can." Lasky clenched his fist around Chyler's tags, a moment of clarity sweeping over him. He knew Chief was going to sacrifice himself so that the four of them could make it to safety. He also knew there had been enough deaths that day. Like hell was he going to sit back and let it happen again.

"No sir!" he said firmly, reaching out to grab the robot as it moved to engage. Said robot looked down at him in what would have been shock if it had been human. "I'll be the decoy!"

"Lasky, no!" Orenski said sharply but Sully noticed Faldon nodding silently. She knew what the cadet could do.

"You sweep him from behind," the brunette continued, ignoring his squad leader's objections.

"Cadet," Chief said but stopped when he saw the determination. Tom knew exactly what he was suggesting and what would probably happen. It was alright. This was what he wanted. Tucking Chyler's tags in his armor, the cadet took a deep breath, ignoring Orenski as she said his name again.

"Axios!"

He took off running, thinking only that he had to make sure to draw the creature away from them. It appeared at the top of the ravine, yelling at him in a language he didn't think he'd ever comprehend. He just kept running, praying to a god he didn't even believe in that he would not trip. The sounds of a weapon powering up met his ears seconds before the ground behind him exploded, lifting him into the air. He was thrown a short distance, face down in the mulch but uninjured. Glancing back, he saw the thing clearly for the first time and felt his heart stop. How could he win against something like that? But then he remembered that he wasn't supposed to fight; he was just supposed to run which he should probably get back to doing. Especially as it was powering up its gun again.

Lasky got back on his feet, taking off through the trees once more. He needed to get farther. He needed to get that thing down to where Master Chief could engage it. Finally, he felt the ground shudder as it jumped, landing heavily right in front of the space they'd been hiding in. There were sounds of a short scuffle, but they ended quickly. Then the monster focused on the cadet again. The cadet could feel it; every cell in his body screamed that he was about to die if he didn't move faster.

The next blast was painfully close, catching him in the blast radius and throwing him hard. He felt the pain sweep through him and heard the roar of the explosion, and then everything faded into darkness. For a few blessed moments, he floated in nothing. There was no pain of any kind. Then, suddenly, he knew that Kaine was waiting for him. He wasn't sure how he knew, but it was as true to him as the fact that he was still alive. So, reluctantly, he decided to go back.

His eyes opened at last, unfocused and blurry but full of life. The first person he saw was Kaine, who had been leaning over him while Sully and Orenski stood nearby. Relief flooded them all before Sully and Orenski helped pull him to his feet, Faldon moving behind him in case his legs gave out. Before they could ask anything, the area was filled with the sounds of a Pelican, announcing their rescue. Chief told them to go, pointing in the direction of the clearing where the Pelican would land and they all scrambled, anxious to finally get off the planet. It only took them a couple minutes to reach the site, the perimeter guarded by marines. As they jogged up to the ship, another giant robot came off the Pelican and trotted over towards them, intent on the Chief. The larger robot paused, allowing the cadets to board the Pelican while it gave its report.

"We have four survivors," Chief said briskly.

"I've alerted command," the other replied, sounding oddly female.

"Let's go," Chief ordered, signaling for the marines to re-board the Pelican. It and the smaller robot followed, sitting in the seats across from the cadets. They were joined by yet another robot, one that looked very familiar. Sully's mind was already spinning with conspiracy theories about the robots, Chief could see that, but he kept his tongue. By comparison, Kaine was showing no interest in the trio of large metal things. Her focus was on the woods as she stood near the open rear doors, still on guard for another attack. It wasn't until they were in the air and relatively safer that she ceased her vigil, leaning against the side and resting her eyes at long last as she settled onto the floor since there were no empty seats.

Cresting a hill, the cadets could see the burning remains of Corbulo. A sober silence fell upon them as they suffered yet another mental blow. Then, to their apathetic surprise, the smallest robot reached up and removed its helmet, revealing itself to actually be a human girl. A young girl. Fifteen, sixteen-years-old tops. Her skin was very pale and freckled, her eyes a dark green, and her hair dark and short. Next to her, the other robot also removed its helmet, showing that it was actually a he, the same age as the girl. Skin slightly darker, eyes pale, hair just as short, though with a strange nick in the design, like a scar that the hair would not grow over. They both had scars on their faces, pale and faded with age. Both teens turned towards Master Chief, silently asking a question, but the Chief ignored them, continuing to watch out the open side. Numbly, Lasky realized that Chief must be the same as them. A young human teenager behind all that armor. The idea was mind blowing. Having their answer, the two former robots turned back to the cadets.

"How old are all of you?" Sully asked at last, unable to keep quiet. The two unmasked glanced at each other, silently debating how to answer. The female, who had to be Kelly, finally answered that the information was classified. No one noticed the redhead's tired smirk at the response. However, it was the redhead that noticed when Orenski tiredly removed her helmet and Kelly nodded towards her. For all their lack of basic social behavior knowledge, the teens knew what it was like to be in hopeless battles. Even as they acted coldly towards the cadets, they actually respected them for surviving without falling to pieces. That's what Kelly was silently trying to say.

As they made their ascent into the upper atmosphere, Chief finally turned towards the brunette who had been watching him for a long time. He reached out; handing the cadet what appeared to be a piece of rock but was actually a piece of the worm monster's armor. "Well done, soldier," he said, surprising Tom before returning to his vigil. Silently, the cadet clasped the armor tighter, knowing that everything would be different now. This time, he thought he was ready for the change.

The rear doors finally closed as the Pelican rose too high into the atmosphere. The moment the ship was sealed, the cadets shifted around, each hoping they could manage a few minutes of sleep. Going an entire night without sleep was bad enough, but add in a night of fighting for your life and watching people you know and love die, and the result is four humans who wanted nothing more than to lose themselves in the dark oblivion of sleep for as long as possible. But for some, like Lasky, sleep was not something that would come easily.

* * *

 

Time: 0734\

April 27, 2526\

Aboard the UNSC _Intrepid_

"Lasky. Lasky, wake up." Slowly, Tom opened his eyes. The Pelican was silent, unmoving, and empty. "Come on Lasky, time to get up. We're on the _Intrepid_." Looking up, he saw Kaine leaning over him, her eyes kind and tired and her face finally free of dirt and blood. "Have a nice nap?"

"Don't know," he yawned, finally sitting up. "Too busy sleeping." That brought a chuckle from the other cadet. They both got to their feet, the brunette still a little unsteady from sleep. He actually had to lean on Faldon as they disembarked from the craft.

The silence that greeted them was out-of-place enough for the cadet to look around. They were in a hangar bay but it was devoid of life. No engineers, no pilots, nothing. Just vehicles of every type and size. Kaine didn't seem perturbed at all by the unnatural moment, moving confidently through the maze of metal. "Come on, Lasky. I convinced everyone to let you sleep as long as possible, but everyone else is going into cryo and you should eat something soon. Not to mention this ship has real beds. Infinitely better than the floor of a Pelican.” Smiling, Tom could only agree and hurried to catch up to the cadet he was starting to consider as a friend.

"Ah, you finally woke up." Jumping in surprise, the brunette spun around to see the male child soldier from the ship, helmet still removed so that his face could be seen. Messy black hair that fell into his face, electric blue eyes, pale skin, numerous scars, and a killer smile. "Chief said you'd wake up eventually, but I was beginning to wonder. We landed hours ago." He held out a hand, still smiling. "I'm Fred, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Thomas Lasky," the cadet replied, shaking the offered hand with a smile of his own. There was something about this soldier that made him feel comfortable. "Sorry about the wait." Once his hand was released, he jerked a thumb towards the redhead, who was watching them both with a very strange look on her face. "That's my friend, Kaine Faldon."

Fred froze, eyes wide as they locked on the older cadet. In a matter of seconds, Tom felt the temperature free fall till he was positive he should be able to see his own breath. Before he could begin to even form a question, the larger soldier had vanished. It took a half second before a sound behind him made the cadet spin around to see the raven haired boy standing where the older cadet had been, arm outstretched like he had just punched something. Another half second preceded a loud crash as the redhead's body hit a different Pelican, tearing right through the metal and leaving a gaping hole.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the cadet screamed, eyes wide, feet already scrambling towards the damaged dropship. He'd hardly made it four steps before a rock hard arm came down, blocking his path. Furious, he glared up at the soldier, wishing he had a weapon so he could shoot the man. "What was that for?! You killed her!"

"Yeah right," the other snorted, eyes narrow in anger. "No one who survived augmentations can be killed that easily." Tom opened his mouth to yell some more but was cut off by a crash from the Pelican. Turning, he gaped as Kaine crawled back through the hole she had made, clothes a little more battered than they had been and a trickle of blood from her mouth, but otherwise fine. Right before his eyes, she reached up to wipe the blood away and cracked her neck, eyes cold and hard as she glared at Fred.

"Nice to see you again, too," she muttered, eyes narrowed. "Took you long enough to recognize me. Now let Lasky go."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Fred challenged instead, taking a more aggressive stance and completely ignoring what she'd said. "You should be dead right now; we all thought you were dead! But since you aren't, I can gladly fix that."

"I let you hit me, Fred,” she warned, voice icy. “You know you could never touch me if I didn't want you to. If you have an issue with me, fine, but Lasky has nothing to do with this."

" _If_  I have an issue with you?! It's been a year! A whole damn year! You couldn't just drop a short message to us all, telling us that you'd survived?! Do you have any idea what your death did to us? To John?"

"Would you have done anything differently? ONI thought me dead and the only way out of the program was to die, so I wasn't anxious to correct them! If I had contacted any of you I would have been hunted down like a-"

"Quiet!" the brunette yelled, cutting them both off. Two sets of hard eyes fell on him and he almost gave in and crawled under a ship but then Faldon's gaze flickered and she rocked back on her heels, giving him the courage to continue. "What the hell is going on here? Why are you at each other's throats? Aren't we all on the same side?" The silence stretched, Kaine and Fred exchanging looks before the redhead finally sighed and focused fully on the cadet.

"I'm one of them, Lasky. I'm a Spartan."

 


	2. My Past Comes Back to Haunt Me

**My Past Comes Back to Haunt Me**

Time: 0758\

April 27, 2526\

Aboard the UNSC _Intrepid_

Corbulo had had a very extensive class dedicated solely to espionage missions. If it was sneaky and underhanded, it was taught in that class. To the shock of many, Lasky had actually done exceptionally well in that course. The only part he had not managed to master was the perfect control of his facial expressions, but when it came to sneaking around and not being seen, he'd been considered a pro by instructors and cadets alike.

Now he realized just how amateur he had been. Sure, Fred was almost painfully noticeable with his hulking armor and massive weapons. Lasky doubted the man knew how to sneak anywhere. But Kaine was a different matter entirely. She slid through the halls like a ghost. Lasky had lost count of how many people they had passed that never even glanced at her. The most amazing part was that she wasn't actively hiding. Her strides were long and firm, her head held high. It was like she was telling everyone that she had a right to be there. Maybe that was the secret to her hiding.

"Lasky?" The former cadet came back to reality. Kaine was looking back at him, eyes hinting at her amusement. "We're here." Startled, Lasky looked around. The floor was transparent, showing the infinity of space. It wasn't a room, per se, but rather a long hall that ran the length of the ship. Lasky had heard of halls like this being built on certain ships, but couldn't remember their purpose. Besides the floor, the place was nothing special, but it was deserted except for the three of them.

"I'm still waiting for an explanation," Fred drawled, tight eyes giving away his frustration. Kaine glared at him, eyes nearly spitting venom. Lasky wasn't even receiving the glare and it made him want to hide somewhere far away. He wasn't sure how the Spartan male could just stand and take it.

"I don't owe _you_  an explanation," Kaine snarled, somehow frightening Lasky more than the monsters at Corbulo had. "The only reasons I'm explaining anything at all is for Lasky's benefit. You can leave whenever you want. In fact, I'd just love it if you'd disappear right now."

"Like hell am I leaving! I've believed you dead for a whole damn year and I'm not leaving until you explain where you've been and why you left!"

"Any mindless baboon would be able to figure out that I've been at Corbulo for the past year considering I'm wearing their uniform. And if you seriously need me to explain why I left then you obviously didn't pay attention to me back when I was in the program. I never made my hatred for the whole project a secret, and you all knew I was looking for a way out!"

Before Fred could respond, Lasky took a risk and stepped between the two quarreling Spartans. He knew it wasn't the brightest thing to do, he'd seen Faldon and Master Chief in action after all. He just had a very bad feeling that the two were only a moment away from attacking each other. "Please, stop fighting," he said. "I can see you have some issues that need to be addressed, but if you're going to physically fight each other please let me escape first."

Kaine responded first, rocking back on her heels and releasing a frustrated hiss. Her eyes closed as she clearly struggled for control, her hand clenching into a tight fist by her side. Fred also backed up, his eyes still snapping with anger, but finally controlling himself. The tension remained for a few minutes more before Kaine finally sighed, gaining the control she'd been seeking.

"Sorry Lasky," she muttered, actually taking a few steps back. Her eyes were still closed, but she seemed much more relaxed. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. My story isn't really long, but we'll be here for a while." Slowly, Lasky obeyed, settling on one of the many benches that lined the hall. After a moment's hesitation, Fred took a seat by the wall; his sharp eyes still pinned on the redhead. "I guess I should start off by telling you my name isn't Kaine. It's Klare. Kaine was the name I took after escaping the Spartan program,” she started, slowly opening her eyes and staring into the vastness of space that was spread beneath their feet. She took another deep breath before shaking her head. "I can't figure out a good place to begin, so let's just start at the beginning.”

* * *

 

Time: Varying\

Year, 2517\

Verent, Outer Colony

_I was six when I first met her. Dr. Catherine Halsey. She'd come to my hometown with a man, a UNSC officer. I can still remember how I was in shock over the Doctor's appearance. Pale skin, dark hair, and she was pretty young. It was so strange in my home, full of people with red hair and green eyes. Many of the adults were wary around her, not sure how to treat the strangers. We kids didn't know any better. To us, she was a mystery, and we wanted to solve her. So when she came to the playground, we didn't have any qualms about crowding around her, asking her questions. I remember she seemed almost sad as she answered every question we asked. Her conscious was biting at her, even then._

_Unlike most of the Spartans, Dr. Halsey hadn't come to see me. She had her eyes on my sister, Lillian. My sister and I were twins but she was always bigger and stronger than I was. It was a source of great frustration for me when we were younger. No one likes being constantly in second place. So when I saw how Dr. Halsey was so focused on my sister, I was angry. To my six-year-old mind, it was proof that everyone thought my sister was better._

_After talking with my sister for a couple minutes, Dr. Halsey pulled out an ancient Earth coin. She told my sister that she wanted to play a game with her. The Doctor would flip the coin into the air, and my sister would call out which side would land face up. Lillian thought it was a stupid game, but wanted the coin because she loved to collect strange items, so she agreed to play. That's where everything went downhill. When Dr. Halsey flipped the coin, I watched it. Somehow, I knew how it would land. So just before Dr. Halsey caught the falling coin, I called out, "Heads!" Everyone looked at me in surprise as I normally just stood to the side and kept quiet. Well, everyone except my sister, who was scowling. Then Dr. Halsey uncurled her fingers and there was the coin, heads up. Silently, the Doctor gave me the coin, a strange look on her face, before she walked away. I'd had a feeling that I'd angered her but the thought barely registered since I'd finally managed to beat my sister. We had a huge argument that night, Lillian claiming that I had stolen the coin from her while I insisted that I had won the coin fairly. Our parents finally forced us to separate and sent us to our rooms for the night. The last thing I ever said to my sister was, "I hate you!"_

_The next thing I remember is waking from cryosleep. You know how disconcerting that can be, Lasky, but imagine how it was for me. I was six-years-old and, to the best of my knowledge, had just fallen asleep in my bed a few hours ago. Suddenly, I was being yanked out of a strange metal tube, puking my guts out even though I didn't really feel sick. There were people all around me, talking and yelling, and I had no idea where I was. And then there was someone standing in front of me, a man in a uniform I couldn't recognize. He helped me to my feet, his face gruff and mean, but his hands were gentle. Once I could stand on my own, he led me off to a room. Inside were other children, each my age and just as frightened as I was, each with a uniformed man standing beside them. I wasn't sure how long we were kept there, standing in a line with these men, but eventually, the door at the front of the room opened and we were led through._

_It was a large room, I remember that. There were risers that we sat on, our uniformed guard beside us at all times. At the front of the room was Dr. Halsey, dressed in a white robe like a scientist. There was also an AI and a military man, but I didn't pay them much mind. I was too scared._

_Once we were all sitting Dr. Halsey stepped forward. "As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project codenamed SPARTAN-II." That's what she said. No other explanation, nothing to calm us. Now, I won't say that we were all frightened. I remember that a few were just confused. But I was terrified. I stood up, fully intending to flee, but my handler put his hand on my shoulder and forced me back into my seat. Other children tried to copy me but the result was the same. The soldiers would not let us leave._

" _You have been called upon to serve," the Doctor continued, her face taking on a desperate look. I guess she was trying to make us understand. "You will be trained...and you will become the best_   _we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies." Some of the children perked up at that. What little kid didn't dream of being a hero, being important? At that moment it seemed as though Dr. Halsey was handing us that dream on a silver platter. But I was still uneasy. My mother had always told me that nothing good was ever free. There had to be a catch, I knew it. "This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents." There it was. Most of the children squirmed at that point, suddenly afraid and uncomfortable. I didn't move because I already knew it was pointless. My soldier wouldn't let me up._

" _This place will become your home," the Doctor continued, trying to soothe the fears she had just created. This lady obviously had no idea how to treat children, but even I will acknowledge her attempts. "Your fellow trainees will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it. Rest now. We begin tomorrow."_

_She turned to speak to the soldier beside her for a moment and he nodded to her before yelling, "Fall out!" It was the first time I'd ever heard a military command, but even then I knew it would be very far from the last. Our handlers urged us to our feet, some kinder than others, and escorted us out of the room. We were all pretty stunned over what had happened, but I do remember that none of us cried. No one broke down, gave in to terror, shed a tear. Despite how much I dislike it, they'd chosen us well. We were already acting like soldiers._

_The next day we started our military training. We were woken at 0530 hours by our drill instructors. Some of us rose instantly when the instructor yelled for us to wake up. Others rolled over and were promptly shocked with electro rods. In retrospect, it must have been a funny sight. Seventy-five six-year-olds either on the ground from being shocked awake or swaying slightly where they stood, still half asleep._

_One soldier stood out above the rest. He wasn't exactly tall, but to us, he was a giant. His hair was shorn close to his head, graying at the temples, and his eyes were large and black. He was standing over the child he'd just shocked, looking perfectly at home in the barracks. It took me a moment to realize he was the same soldier that had stood by the Doctor._

" _I'm Chief Petty Officer Mendez," he yelled, making us all jump. "The rest of these men are your instructors. You will do exactly as we tell you at all times." He pointed toward a section of the building that my bunk was closest to. "Showers are aft. You will all wash and then return here to dress." To demonstrate, he reached into the trunk that apparently belonged to the child he had shocked and pulled out a set of gray sweats that matched what he and the other adults were wearing. "No slacking. On the double!" he ordered, casually tapping the boy between the shoulder blades with the rod. The child instantly fell onto the bed, gasping for breath. "I mean it! Go, Go, GO!"_

_We all rushed for the showers. One of the few blessings of being six at the time was that we had no qualms about being naked together. It didn't matter that we were boys and girls showering in the same place and in plain view of each other. All that mattered was that we were fast enough to not get touched by one of those metal rods. Most of us forwent drying, instead racing back to our bunks and getting out clothes that we quickly threw on. I'd barely managed to finish lacing my boots when Mendez roared, "Outside, trainees! Triple time-March!" We all raced outside, doing a marvelous impersonation of a miniature stampede._

_The sun wasn't even up as we got outside. The grass we were on was still wet with dew and some of the children were shivering. I remember looking around and noticing that we were the only humans around. There were plenty of other barracks, but no one else was out._

_Then Chief Mendez was before us again. "You will make five equal-length rows. Fifteen trainees in each," he barked, watching us with narrow eyes. We stumbled around for a few seconds, a little confused. "Straighten those rows. You know how to count to fifteen, trainee? Take three steps back." He commented every time we made even a slight mistake. The venom in his voice terrified many of us, which just made it harder to do as he had ordered. However, we eventually got in our rows. "Jumping_   _jacks!" he ordered. "Count off to one hundred. Ready, go." He actually started the jumping jacks; something I wouldn't realize was abnormal for many years. Most of us followed his example. Those that didn't instantly received a rod to the stomach. As soon as they could breathe again, they were jumping with the rest of us._

_After the jumping jacks came sit-ups. Another hundred. Chief Mendez told us that if we slacked off, any quitter would have to run around the compound twice and then come back to do two hundred sit-ups. No one quit. We didn't dare. Some of us thought that, surely, the pain would end soon. It didn't. We did deep squats, knee bends, leg lifts. Each time we went to a hundred. Some of us threw up, but it didn't help. The instructors only gave us a few seconds to get a breath before coming towards us, rods ready. The sight had us quickly resuming whatever exercise had been interrupted._

_It was after the leg lifts that we were given a respite. Each child was given a bottle of water; most of us chugged the liquid as quickly as we could. It was warm and salty, but none of us cared. It was water. The sun was up by that point and some of us were looking around. At least, those of us that weren't curled up on the ground did. None of us talked, most still trying to catch our breaths._

_All too soon Chief Mendez stood again. "A good start, trainees," he said, barely sweating. "Now we run. On your feet." If it hadn't been for the instructors and their batons, I think most of us would have stayed right where we were. Every muscle in our bodies were already aching and we couldn't fathom the idea of putting them through still more. But we feared those rods, so we all stumbled to our feet, got into a very rough formation, and started jogging._

_The run went on forever. We passed a river, went over a bridge, ran past the pelican runway, traveled a zigzag path of stone. It was long and hard and we didn't have time or energy to think of anything except putting one foot in front of the other. That was the point. Eventually, we reached a courtyard and jogged right up to a large building. The words_  Naval Officers Academy _were carved into the front archway. That's also where we saw the AI that had been with Dr. Halsey the night before._

" _Excellent work, Chief Petty Officer Mendez," the AI told the soldier, nodding regally towards him. I remember thinking how strange she looked, wrapped up in a bed sheet. Then she turned towards us. "Welcome. My name is Deja and I will be your teacher. Please come in. Class is about to start." Some of us groaned, and I was among them. For a moment I thought that I'd rather continue running. Then my legs twinged and I changed my mind. Deja was ready for our protests, though. She turned to enter the building and said over her shoulder, "Of course, if you prefer to skip your lessons, you may continue the morning calisthenics." We ran up those steps after her. I might have been the only one to hear Chief Mendez chuckle behind us._

_There were crackers and milk inside, the first food we had seen that morning. It was dry and tasteless but we were already past the point of caring. Most of us just ate a few pieces of cracker before laying our heads upon the desks, fully intending to sleep. Then Deja started talking about an ancient Earth battle. We didn't really understand when the AI told us that we were watching a battle waged by the original Spartans. All that mattered to our young minds was that a force of three hundred defeated an army of thousands. When the Spartans proved to be victorious, we all cheered. Like any young human, we'd found something we enjoyed and wanted to instantly do it again._

" _That's all for today," Deja told us, calming us down. "We'll continue tomorrow and I'll show you some wolves. Now it's time for you to go to the playground." I think we all perked up at the word. Playgrounds were fun. They were an escape from the classroom, a place where we could play and run around and yell and laugh. We raced from the building, full of excitement. Chief Mendez was waiting for us. As soon as I saw him I knew that their idea of a playground wasn't going to be as fun as the one back home._

" _Time for the playground," Chief Mendez told us, a smirk tucked into the corner of his mouth. "It's a short run. Fall in." Short run my ass. We ran for a little over two miles. When we finally got to the place they called a playground, many of us were ready to drop dead. The playground itself was more like an obstacle course. There were nets and bridges and climbing ropes and sliding poles. It was_   _a maze, all suspended twenty meters above the ground on tall wooden poles. "Trainees, form three lines," came the order from Mendez. The instructors shifted to herd us into those lines, but we'd already learned to do as told and formed the lines quickly and without help. "The first person in every row will be team number one. The second person in each row will be team number two-and so on. If you do not understand this, speak up now." No one spoke._

_I was in the middle line, first row. On my left was a boy with black hair and green eyes. The name on his sweat top was_  FREDRIC-104. _To my right was another boy with deep black hair and bright blue eyes. His name was_  JAMES-005. _They both looked at me as we all sized each other up. At least we didn't instantly dislike each other like some groups did._

" _Today's game is called 'Ring the Bell.'" Mendez told us, standing at ease before our lines. He pointed to the pole that was farthest away from us. It was also the tallest pole, and at the very top, there was a brass bell. "There are many ways to get to the bell," he told us. "I leave it up to each team to find their own way. When every member of your team has rung the bell, you are to get ground side double time and run back here across the finish line." Some of us looked for a finish line but there was none until he took his rod and scratched one in the dirt where he stood._

_One of the children in the third row raised his hand. Mendez leveled a glare at the boy, but it didn't cow the child at all. "A question, trainee?" the soldier finally growled out._

" _What do we win?" was the response. It wouldn't take too long for every single person in the area to realize that that question was always at the forefront of that particular child's mind._

" _You win dinner, Number-117," Mendez answered; cocking an eyebrow in what we later learned was a sign of amusement. "Tonight, dinner is roast turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, brownies, and ice cream." The group broke out in excited whispers. After the morning we had had, that food sounded like a marvelous feast. "But, for there to be winners there must be a loser. The last team to finish goes without food." The effect was instantaneous as we all fell silent. At that moment, the thought of losing sounded like a fate worse than death. "Make ready." My group said nothing to each other. We just looked at our teammates and nodded once. There was an unspoken agreement that we would help each other make it to the bell. After all, there had to be a reason why we were placed in teams. "Go!"_

_The children as a group surged forward, but I can still recall how that brown haired boy that had spoken to Mendez shot ahead. He was fast and sure-footed. It was clear he knew his own limits when he chose to climb a rope instead of sitting in the basket and pull himself up with the rope like he was supposed to. He was the first to ring the bell. Fredric, James, and I were fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. We made it across the finish line with time to spare. 117's teammates were the last to make it across the line._

" _Good work, trainees," Mendez said, gracing us with a smile. "Let's get back to the barracks and chow down-all except team three."_

" _But I won!" 117 protested, full of anger at the unfairness. "I was first."_

" _Yes,_  you _were first, but your team came in last," Mendez told him, pinning him with a look that had some of us cowering away. "Remember this:_  you _don't win unless your team wins. One person winning at the expense of the group means you lose." It was a strange concept for us to grasp. How could you win and lose at the same time?_

_I watched 117 that night while the rest of us ate. There were times I was sure he would cry, but he never did. I almost wish he had. It might have made the next few years easier._

_The next day was the same. Early rise for calisthenics, running far longer than we wanted, class with Deja in the afternoon. We learned about wolves, just as she had promised. It was a good thing we did, too. The wolves worked in a pack, as a team, and then they all shared the reward. That was the lesson Mendez had tried to teach us the day before. I found myself hoping that 117 was paying attention._

_After class, we went to the playground. Mendez told us it would be the same as yesterday, right_   _down to the groups. 117's group was still mad at him, I could tell. The other boy on the team shoved him, and I have no doubt that if 117 had not been exhausted a fight would have broken out right there. For one moment, 117 met my gaze and I smiled at him. I didn't think his teammates really hated him. They were just sore that he'd left them the day before. Still, I wanted him to know that there was someone who wasn't mad at him. I wasn't expecting him to smile back, but he did._

_The race went very different that day. Team three worked together, using their combined strength to pull themselves straight to the bell. They weren't first. My team had that honor. But they were third and they all rang the bell together before sliding to the ground and crossing the finish line as a team. Mendez actually smiled at them, though I don't know if anyone else caught it. They spoke amongst themselves for a minute before apparently making some sort of agreement, which resulted in all of them smiling. Then, to my surprise, 117 looked around and, upon spotting me, trotted over. Once he was close enough he held out a hand, a barely noticed smile tucked into the corners of his mouth. "I'm John," he said. Nothing else. I didn't need anything else. I just smiled back and shook his hand._

" _I'm Klare."_

* * *

 

Time: 0854\

April 27, 2526\

Aboard the UNSC _Intrepid_

Lasky's eyes finally flicked towards Fred. It was strange to realize that this had been Kaine's teammate. Just from what she'd said, he couldn't see where their hatred and anger towards each other came from. Then again, it was obvious her story was a long way from being finished.

It was also a shock to realize just what she and Fred and the other Spartans had gone through. Back when he had been six, his biggest concerns were begging his mother for a puppy and pestering Cadmon to teach him chess. He'd have died if he'd been thrown into that sort of training with no warning and completely cut off from his family.

"You okay, Lasky?" Kaine asked, having looked up at last and noticing his thoughtful expression. He just met her eyes with a simple and sincere gaze.

"You guys are amazing," he told her bluntly. "I can't imagine how you survived that." His comment drew a sarcastic laugh from the girl.

"We survived it because we were meant to survive," she answered. "We were chosen for our independence; our strength, both mental and physical; our competitiveness; our aggression; our ability to survive. It might seem strange to you, but the reason we made it through training was because we were chosen and the reason we were chosen was because we could make it through the training."

"But you weren't chosen," Lasky argued, trying to understand this girl that had somehow become his friend. "Your sister was chosen, not you. How did you survive?" Silence fell over the small group. Even Fred had perked up at the question, never having thought of things in that context before. Eventually, though, Kaine just shrugged.

"I survived because I had to," she offered, though Lasky wasn't sure if she believed it herself. "My friends and team helped. Really, though, the only other option was to drop dead. Our instructors wouldn't accept anything else. I might have been young, but I knew that I wasn't ready for my life to end. Now, do you want the rest of the story?" Slowly, Lasky nodded. Somehow, he could feel that she needed to tell the story as much as he needed to hear it.

* * *

 

Time: Varying\

Year, 2519\

Reach

_Years went by. We all got used to being soldiers. Thoughts of home and our parents were long gone. Honestly, we didn't really have time to think about them anymore. For the first year, we were kept in a constant state of exhaustion. Just as we started to adjust to what they demanded of us, they'd up the amount of work we had to do. They probably knew that the best thing to keep us under their control was to make us too tired to care about the fact that we had been kidnapped. After the first year, they_   _must have thought we didn't care anymore. That was actually a pretty accurate thought. Our lives before had become more like a fond dream and less like reality. Waking up at 0530; running for miles without knowing when it would end; scrambling over rickety bridges that were twenty meters in the air if our commanders were feeling nice; that was reality._

_Some days, our schedule was shaken up a bit. Right after morning calisthenics we'd be loaded onto a dropship and taken to some undisclosed location. We'd be left there, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, sometimes right on top of each other. There was always some sort of mission we had to accomplish, everything from stealing supplies to tracking down enemy personnel._

_When we were eight, we were on one such mission. We were all settled in the holding area of the dropship, waiting to see what this mission would entail. Outside, the world was white and mountain peaks loomed around us. Fred, James, and I were watching for wild creatures out the window on one side of the ship while John and his team, Sam and Kelly, were talking about something as they looked out the windows on the other side. The rest of the children were scattered around the holding area, either whispering to those nearby or catching up on sleep. Then Chief Mendez stepped out of the cockpit and we all leapt to our feet, snapping into attention._

" _At ease and sit down," he ordered. We did as commanded. "Today's mission will be simple for a change," he told us, sounding far too amused. It put all of us on alert. Then he gave a stack of papers to Kelly and told her to pass them out. As she obeyed, he explained our mission. "These are portions of maps of the local region. You will be set down by yourselves. You will then navigate to a marked extraction point and we will pick you up there. One more thing. The last trainee to make it to the extraction point will be left behind. And it's a very long walk back."_

_Glancing down at my sheet, I saw that I happened to have the portion that had the extraction point, but no clue about how to get there. Fred and James had terrain pieces._

" _First drop is in three minutes," Mendez informed us. "Trainee 117, you're up first."_

" _Sir! Yes, sir!" John answered sharply. With a final nod, Mendez re-entered the cockpit, leaving us alone. John glanced out the window one more time before nudging Sam and pointing out the window. Sam apparently saw the same thing John did, because he nodded before pointing it out to Kelly. The two then moved about the rest of us, quietly telling us about the location of the lake and that we would all meet there. They finished just as the ship decelerated._

" _Trainee 117: front and center," Mendez ordered. "Watch out for wolves in the forest, 117." John answered affirmatively before glancing over his shoulder towards his team. He glanced at Sam first before meeting my gaze and throwing me a small smile. Then he turned and ran off the ship._

_I was the next one dropped. It normally went that way. John was the unofficial leader of our little band of soldiers and the adults knew it, so he was often the first one to be thrown into unknown situations. I was his second-in-command, so I was always on his heels. Though I protested when the children mentioned the position they had given me, my words meant nothing to them. In their eyes, it was natural for me to be John's main support. Sure, Kelly and Sam were his team but in the eloquent words of my friend, Max, "There's something special about you and John. You two click."_

_It didn't take long to reach the lake that John had spotted. I had barely been there five minutes before John and Sam came trotting in my direction. The bushes obscured me from view, so rather than step out to greet them I growled like a wild cat. Startled both of them, but it was only a second before John recognized the sound and laughed. "Hello to you too, Klare," he said with a smile. Chuckling, I stepped out of the brush and followed the two boys quietly. We circled the lake, picking up the other children as we went until all seventy-five of us were accounted for._

" _Let's get the map pieces together," Kelly suggested, tugging her hat lower on her head. She was still upset about having her hair shorn off, but a passing officer had noticed her blue hair and demanded her head be shaved. John, Sam, and I were already plotting how to get revenge for her._

" _Good idea," John told her, smiling briefly. "Sam, take three and scout the area. I don't want any of the Chief's surprises sneaking up on us." Just the thought made us all peer around nervously._   _Wouldn't be the first time Mendez hid some sort of trap._

" _Right," Sam replied, quickly picking out three of the children to go with him. Quiet as ghosts, they all vanished into the bushes. Kelly quickly gathered the map pieces and started putting it together, being better at puzzles than the rest of us combined._

" _Some of these don't belong, and some are copies," she muttered, though if she was speaking to us or herself was up for debate. "Yes, here's an edge. Got it-this is the lake, the river, and here-" she pointed to my portion of the map that had the patch of green. "That's got to be the extraction point." She surveyed the map critically, frowning. "If the legend on this map is right, it's a full day's hike, though. We better get started." John just nodded, whistling sharply to bring the scouts scurrying back before giving us the order to move out._

_Kelly took point since she was the navigator, Sam, ahead of her to blaze the trail. Sometimes he'd motion for us to stop or hide, but it always turned out to be a rabbit or bird that caused the alarm. Had we been any other group of eight-year-old children, we would have called him paranoid and disregarded his warning after a while. Luckily, we weren't any other group of eight-year-olds. We were soldiers and knew better than to ignore any change. That thought was reaffirmed when James and I spotted wolf tracks moving parallel to the slight trail we were following. Kelly chose a different trail._

_Around noon, we stopped to rest and eat berries we had gathered while marching. Fhajad, a member of team nine, seemed troubled. "I want to know one thing," he said. "We're going to get to the extraction point at the same time. So who's getting left behind? We should decide now."_

" _Draw straws," someone suggested, hidden amongst the others. I just glanced at John, knowing he wouldn't accept the option._

" _No," he said, just as I knew he would. "No one's being left behind. We're going to figure out a way to get all of us out."_

" _How?" Kelly asked, not wanting to doubt John but she knew the Chief as well as any of us. "Mendez said-."_

" _I know what he said. But there's got to be a way-I just haven't thought of one yet. Even if it has to be me that stays behind-I'll make sure everyone gets back to the base." John was so determined, we all knew better than to question him. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time he managed to find a loophole and outsmart our instructors. "Come on, we're wasting time." Silently, we all got up and followed him._

_We marched the rest of the day, never really getting tired. We were too well trained for that. The sun was just starting to set when Kelly finally stopped, motioning for us to cease movement. "We're almost there," she whispered, knowing this was the most dangerous part of the mission. If Mendez had laid any traps, they would most likely be on the home stretch._

" _Me and Sam will scout it out," John decided. "Everyone fall out-and keep quiet." The rest of the children obeyed quickly, except for me. I just stood there, glaring at John, until he gave an exasperated sigh and nodded. Silently, the three of us moved forward through the undergrowth, warily looking for the unpleasant surprise that had to be waiting._

_When we finally saw the meadow, it was almost too good to be true. The dropship sat right in the middle of the clearing, lights on full power and illuminating the whole area. There were also six men sitting near the launch ramp, sharing cigarettes and passing around a canteen that I was willing to bet had alcohol in it. They were relaxed and obviously not expecting us._

_Sam motioned for us to back up which we did quickly. "You recognize them?" he whispered. I shook my head as John replied with a negative. "They're not in uniform. They don't look like any soldiers I've ever seen. Maybe they're rebels. Maybe they stole the dropship and killed the Chief."_

" _No way," John argued. "Nothing can kill the Chief. But one thing's for sure: I don't think we can just walk up there and get a free ride back to the base. Let's go back."_

_He glanced at me to see if I had anything to add but I just shook my head. However, I did give Sam an amused glance. "We probably don't look like any soldiers they've ever seen either," I teased_   _him, a smile threatening to cover my face. Both boys chuckled at the thought before we crept back to the others and explained the situation._

" _What do you want to do?" Kelly asked John once we were done reporting, causing the boy to stare in shock. Silently, I rolled my eyes. I didn't like being SiC, but at least I wasn't shocked every time someone reminded me that I had been gifted that title. John still acted like it was the first time he realized he was the group's chosen leader._

" _Okay-we don't know who these men are or what they'll do when they see us," he said quietly, obviously speaking as he thought things out. "So we find out. Here's how. First, I'll need a rabbit."_

" _That's me," Kelly said, springing to her feet. "I'm the fastest." There were no arguments; Kelly could outrun most of our instructors._

" _Good, you go to the edge of the meadow-and then let them see you." I could see he was already uneasy about the plan, reluctant to put any of us in possible danger, but it had to be done. "I'll go along and hide nearby and watch. In case anything happens to you, I'll report back to the others." Kelly nodded. "Then you lure a few back here. Run right past this spot. Sam, you'll be out in the open, pretending like you've broken your leg."_

" _Gotcha," Sam answered almost jovially. He instantly walked over to Fhajad who scraped Sam's shin with his boot, causing blood to well up through the cut._

" _The rest of you, wait in the woods in a big circle," John continued. "If they try to do anything but help Sam-." He made a fist with his hand and slammed it into his open palm. "Remember the moose and the wolves?" We all grinned at the thought. Deja had shown us that lesson more times than we could count. "Get some rocks." The rest did as ordered while Kelly started warming up and Sam lay on the ground, pretending to be in pain. I caught John's eyes and he made a subtle gesture, asking me to stay close to his male teammate. Of all the children, I had the most instinctual battle sense. It wasn't enough for me to win every fight, but it was good enough to tell me when someone was an actual threat or just pretending. Nodding, I settled in as close as I dared to the acting boy. John and Kelly moved off, ready to do their part. We were ready to do ours._

_It was only a minute later that Kelly raced by, one of the men stumbling behind her. He quickly spotted Sam, lying on the ground. "Please, help me," Sam actually whimpered. He would have been a great actor. "It's broken."_

" _I got your broken leg right here, kid," the man snarled, raising a baton. I narrowed my eyes at him. There was no actual hostility towards us, but at the same time, there was no mercy. He honestly didn't give a shit about us and his orders were to make it as hard on us as he could. At least, that's what my gut said._

_A rock flew past the man, startling him into turning around. It was the chance Sam needed to quickly roll to his feet and dash to safety. He slid under a bush, landing right beside me and grabbing one of the stones I had collected. A heartbeat later a storm of rocks attacked the man, forcing him to stumble back as he tried to protect himself. Then Kelly suddenly appeared, throwing her rock with deadly accuracy so that it struck the man right in the middle of the forehead. He dropped without a sound and I knew he was dead._

" _What do we do with him?" Sam asked, coming out of hiding as the other children reappeared._

" _It's just an exercise, right?" Fhajad reminded us. "He has to be with Mendez." Out of us all, Fhajad was the one to hold the greatest amount of faith in our instructors. Some, though, like me and John, couldn't forget that the people that now raised and trained us were also the ones to kidnap us. We respected them, but we'd never trust them._

" _You heard him," John whispered, rolling the man over to observe him. "You saw what he was going to do to Sam. Mendez or our trainers would never do that to us. Ever. He's got no uniform. No insignias. He's not one of us." Still, he glanced at me, wanting to know my thoughts. I could only shrug, confused. I also didn't believe that our instructors would allow us to be treated in such a way, but the man had been following orders. The question was, whose? "Get his baton," John ordered; Sam was_   _only too happy to obey. "Now we go back and get the others. Kelly, you be rabbit again. Just get them to the edge of the clearing. Duck out, and let us do the rest." Kelly nodded and darted off. The rest of us gathered rocks and fanned out behind her._

_Giving us a minute to get armed and in position, Kelly finally stepped into the meadow again. "That guy fell and hit his head," she called to the other men. "Over here!" Like idiots, they all rose and ran over. Just as with the other, I knew they wouldn't kill us. They would, however, hurt us very badly. When John glanced at me, I nodded. Once they were close enough, John whistled. The stones were released. The men were so startled they fell to their knees, trying to cover their heads. That was what John had been waiting for and he whistled again. As one, we rose and raced toward the shocked men, screaming to keep them in a further state of confusion._

_It was carnage. Sam attacked the men brutally with his stolen baton, laying them out left and right. One man managed to catch Fhajad with a fist to the face, dropping the boy. Before he could further harm the child, I grabbed him in one of the head locks I had seen other soldiers perform and twisted my arm, not totally sure what would happen. Therefore, the snap surprised me and I released the body, realizing I had broken his neck. I'd killed my first human._

_The battle ended quickly, each man effectively beaten to death. John was nearly trembling with rage by the end. He hadn't asked to become our leader but we all knew he was fiercely protective of us. These men had threatened us, and to John, that was unforgivable._

" _Want to call Mendez now?" Sam asked as he helped Fhajad to his feet. Both boys nodded towards me, knowing what I had done to protect the dark skinned boy. I couldn't nod back._

" _Not yet," John answered, trotting towards the dropship. He didn't protest when I joined him. Maybe he, like myself at the time, just didn't want to be alone. Inside, the ship was empty. John quickly accessed the COM system and contacted Deja. Her face appeared a second later._

" _Good evening, Trainee 117," she greeted, sounding pleasant as only an AI could. "Do you have a homework question?"_

" _Kind of," John answered, rubbing the back of his head. I noticed a trickle of blood there and growled quietly. Seemed he didn't get out of the fight unscathed. "One of CPO Mendez's assignments."_

" _Ah," she replied, sounding as uncertain as a computer program could. "Very well."_

" _I'm in an Albatross Dropship," John informed her although she could probably guess that from the message he'd sent to get her attention. "There's no pilot, but I need to get home. Teach me to fly it, please." I snorted, knowing the reaction he would be getting and it wouldn't be a simple, 'Of course.'_

" _You are not rated to fly that craft, trainee," Deja told John, a faint look of concern in her eyes. "But I can help. Do you see the winged icon in the corner of your screen? Tap it three times." John did so, opening what looked like thousands of new icons. "Touch the green arrows at nine o'clock twice." He did and the words_  Autopilot Activated _appeared on the screen. "I have control now. I will get you home."_

" _Hang on a second," John said, gesturing for me to remain as he ran back outside, no doubt to get the others. I sat in the pilot seat, legs suddenly weak. The face of the man I had killed swam before my gaze. This was what we were training for, I knew that, but it was suddenly so much more real. That man was my first kill, but he would be far from the last. When John finally came back to the cockpit, I hardly heard him order Deja to get us out of there. The ship rose away from the ground, leaving whatever innocence I had behind._

_The minute we landed at the base Mendez was waiting for us, and he was pissed. After ordering us all back to the barracks, with no dinner I might add, he escorted John away, obviously ready to reprimand the boy fiercely. The shock of the kill had worn off by that point, leaving me slightly concerned for my friend until I saw Dr. Halsey heading in the same direction. John had always been her favorite and I knew he was safe with her around. Sure enough, a couple hours later John returned to the barracks, a look of shock on his face. The rest of the children were asleep, having been worn out by our activities that day, but I was waiting for John on his bed, our usual meeting place. He crawled_   _up next to me, giving me a very confused look. "They made me Squad Leader."_

" _So they finally recognize what we all decided years ago," I chuckled, honestly amused. For someone who always wanted to win and be the best, he looked so put out at being chosen as Squad Leader. He actually glared at me and punched me lightly in the shoulder. We sat in silence for a moment more before he sighed._

" _They were Mendez's men after all," he told me, head bowed in shame. "We killed men that were sent to protect us."_

" _No," I rebuked gently. "They might have been Mendez's men, but they were following someone else's orders. I'm sure of it." John just gave me a look, obviously unsure if he believed me._

_Then he asked, "You killed one, didn't you?" With a nervous gulp, I lowered my gaze and nodded. It was still so strange. We'd always known that we would kill someday. I just didn't expect it to be so soon. Thankfully, John didn't say anything else. He just wrapped me in a hug, telling me without words that it didn't change his opinion of me. With a tired sigh, I melted into the touch. Hugs were so rare since our capture. I'd never really liked them, before but I decided right then that I wouldn't mind if John wanted to ever hug me again._

_Eventually, I returned to my own cot, allowing John to change and settle into sleep. I, however, was still awake when Mendez and Dr. Halsey came in for a bed check. I feigned sleep, not wanting them to question why I was still up. It was because of this that I heard them talking._

" _I saw the reports, Mendez. Your men threatened the children! They might not have been ready to kill them, but they were certainly ready to cause great harm."_

" _Yes, Doctor, I am aware of this. I did read the reports after all. The only Intel I could find showed that the men had received orders from a party aside from you and me. Thus far, I haven't been able to track down whom. So unless you're planning on helping me, I will thank you to keep quiet about the subject. You know what they say about children." He looked at me; I knew it, even with my eyes closed. "They always hear what you don't want them to hear." With that, they left the barracks. I spent the rest of the night awake, wrestling with what I had learned while cowering away from the face of the man I had killed without a second thought._

* * *

 

Time: 0946\

April 27, 2526\

Aboard the UNSC _Intrepid_

This time, Lasky glanced over at Fred and was surprised to see the teen looking away, though he was still glaring. A quick glance at Kaine proved that she was scowling darkly at the floor. Obviously, he'd missed some hidden part of the story that made the two react in such a way. "Okay, what'd I miss?" Kaine's gaze flicked to his, still nearly spitting fire. "You look ready to kill everyone on the ship and Fred looks both ashamed and pissed. What'd I miss?"

"Nothing yet," she snarled, looking away again, her entire body tense. "We just know what happened next." A rumbling growl started coming from her throat and Lasky realized that she hadn't been kidding about the cat snarl she'd mentioned in her story. It sounded like he was right next to a very large, very angry feline.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Fred suddenly said, voice quiet and tight. Lasky nearly jumped and ran when Kaine whirled on him.

"For what it's worth?! It's worth nothing! It's been too many years for an apology to mean anything." Her chest was heaving, she was so angry. At that moment, Lasky knew that not only was she capable of killing her one-time friend, she was willing to as well. Everything she'd said up to that point had painted a picture of a perfect and very close friendship between her team and John's team. The tiny smiles she'd had as she described their conversations, the happy sighs as she recounted their victories. But now he knew better. Something had happened, and it hadn't just broken their friendship. It had all but destroyed it. And something told him that that something came from the words she had heard and the man she had killed.

After a few minutes of silence, Kaine pulled herself back once more, closing her eyes as she took a few deep breaths to control the rage that Lasky could clearly see. Eventually, she turned her back on the two, choosing to perch in the sill of a nearby window. The silence persisted a while longer before she resumed her tale, her voice taut and her words clipped.

* * *

 

Time: Varying\

February 11, 2521\

Reach

_Everything changed for me that day. Killing that man made me reevaluate myself and my beliefs. It's one thing to hear that some day you will be killing people. It’s one thing to go out on the range and shoot at human shaped objects when you know full well that they're just targets and not alive. It's completely different to look down at your hands and realized that those same hands had actually ended someone's life. Training up till that point had been fun. It was a game that I wanted to win just as much as John did. After that point, training was the only thing that would decide if I was going to return home alive or if my enemy was._

_Then there were the words of Mendez to contend with. Someone had given orders to his men that would have resulted in a lot of us trainees being severely injured. Despite the harshness of our lives, we'd never before had to deal with a person that was openly hostile towards us. Yes, our instructors would attack us at random times to see how quickly we'd react. Yes, Mendez would rig traps in our barracks and laugh his ass off when we suddenly ended up trussed up like chickens. But we always knew that all those acts were meant to make us better. They were meant to help us. Of course, we'd been told about the war against the Insurrectionists. We knew we'd be fighting them eventually. But children couldn't be expected to comprehend that there were people out there that wanted them, them specifically, dead. Now there was an unknown force that had enough power to harm us. I was afraid because I didn't know who my enemy was and no idea how to fight them._

_I was angry because my friends would not believe me. Kelly and Sam thought I was just being paranoid. Fred and James were convinced that my feelings came solely from the shock of having killed a man. Even John thought I was overreacting. The rest of the trainees weren't sure what was wrong with me, but they didn't believe me either. Today that wouldn't seem like such a big deal, but being eight-years-old, it was the ultimate betrayal to me. Actually, no, it would still be a big deal. After everything we had been through, it hurt that they didn't believe me. They couldn't trust me enough to at least consider that I might be right. So I did what any eight-year-old would do after being betrayed by my friends. I quit talking to them._

_My silence pissed everyone off. I answered to my instructors when they expected an answer. I had conversations with Dr. Halsey the few times I was expected to speak with her. But to the rest of the trainees, I said nothing. The only communication I had with them was through sign and body language. I also had an amazing ability to hold a grudge, because that silence went on for years. It got to the point where even the instructors quit addressing me personally. Only Mendez still spoke to me, and he made it clear that I did not have to answer verbally. I'll never know why they made exceptions for me, but I was grateful for them._

_My silence also resulted in being the first trainee to go on private missions. Mendez would randomly pull me out of whatever activity we happened to be in and send me on a mission I could accomplish solo. One such mission came about on my tenth birthday. We'd just finished our run to Deja's class and were munching on our provided lunch. As usual, I sat apart from the others, content to be in my own world. And as usual, John wasn't about to let me go without a fight._

" _Klare, come sit with us," he called, motioning for me to join him and his team. Fred and James were with them, all five of them watching me with hopeful expressions. I glanced at John to prove I had heard him before blatantly looking away. What I wasn't expecting was for him to come over and confront me. "How long is this going to go on?! We've been trying to talk to you for two damn years now. I don't know what caused this, but you're blowing it way out of proportion." I stubbornly kept my_   _gaze down, continuing to eat my lunch as though he wasn't there. Therefore I was caught off guard when he suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Look at me!"_

_All the battle instincts we'd had pounded into our minds triggered and I lashed out, catching John on the temple with my punch. The last thing he had expected was to be attacked, so he was unprepared for the strike and flew backwards. The entire room had gone dead silent by the time he hit the ground. The other trainees backed up, their gazes flickering between John who was flat on his back, a surprised look on his face, and me, having taken a defensive stance. Slowly, John got up, a bruise already starting to form around his left eye where my fist had connected. His eyes met mine, wide with shock and hurt. I can only guess what he saw in mine._

" _Attention!" We all snapped to attention as Chief Mendez fully stepped into the room, Dr. Halsey and Deja behind him. His hard eyes surveyed us all, lingering on John and me the longest. "At ease, trainees." We slowly obeyed, nervousness nearly palpable in the air. Our instructors had been very clear since the beginning of training that attacking each other was strictly forbidden. There was no doubt he had seen me strike John and even if he hadn't, John's bruise and my stance would have told him everything he needed to know. The only question now was what punishment I would receive._

_Instead, Mendez looked at John. "Trainee 117, you will cease harassing trainee 113. I don't know what the lot of you did to convince her to take a vow of silence. but it's happened and you will respect it." Then he looked at me. "Trainee 113, you're going on a mission. Return to the barracks and pack for two days in crude shelter. Be outside the barracks in one hour." I nodded firmly, accepting the orders. "Dismissed." Without a glance to my one-time friends, I raced out of the room. I'd have to hurry in my run back if I was going to have enough time to pack and get back out before I was to be retrieved._

_Using every shortcut I'd learned, I reached the barracks in record time. There was no one in the area, so I dashed straight inside and started packing my mission bag. Clothes for different types of weather, medical supplies, sanitation supplies, any tool I thought I might need, tools I knew I'd need like my weapon cleaning kit, all that went in the bag. I knew food rations would be handled by Mendez so I didn't worry about that. Once all my supplies were gathered, I slung the pack over my shoulder, grabbed my weapon, and went for the door. However, just as I was laying a hand on the handle, I heard someone talking outside. The door was thick enough that I could not tell what was being said, but I recognized Mendez's voice. And I could tell he was angry._

_A part of me wanted to go out and support Mendez. A larger part of me held close to my training and insisted I remain where I was as I didn't know if the argument was one I had the clearance to fully hear. Eventually, the other voice wandered off, leaving Mendez alone. I waited a moment longer to be sure before opening the door to exit._

" _How much did you hear, 113?" I looked up at Mendez, wondering if I should even bother acting confused or surprised. His glare told me either option was pointless, so I just shook my head. "I mean it, 113. What did you hear?" Again, I shook my head. I'd heard voices but no words that I could understand. For a moment I actually considered saying so out loud, but after two years of not speaking, it was hard to remember how to verbalize again. Luckily, Mendez just scrutinized me a moment longer before nodding gruffly. "Alright then. Into the Warthog with you." Without preamble, I obeyed. To my shock, Mendez took the driver seat and started out. In all the years I'd been training, Mendez never personally took any trainee anywhere. He was always present while we were being transported, but he was never the one in control of the vehicle._

" _Your mission packet is in the space between us," Mendez informed me, drawing my eyes to the envelope that was sitting peacefully on the seat. "You are not to open it until you are on the dropship heading towards the mission site. Food rations and extra ammunition will be waiting for you in the dropship." I nodded as he fell silent, wondering just what sort of mission I was being sent on. "I admit, trainee, I'm not happy about sending you on this mission. I've argued until I was blue in the face to get you out of this." Nervously, I glanced at him. That couldn't be good. "However, I was ultimately_   _overruled." He pulled to a stop by the runway, leaning back against his seat. For so many years, Mendez had been someone we all feared and respected. It was the first time that I could see how old he'd gotten while trying to raise and train us. His hair was mostly grey and there were wrinkles on his face that I had never noticed before. The way he slumped made me realize just how tired he looked all the time now. It was a shock as I recalled that the changes started happening after that disastrous mission when we were eight. I hadn't been the only person changed._

" _I know what your mission packet says," Mendez finally said, voice quiet and firm. "I know your orders and what you were supplied to help you with the mission. It's all a bunch of bullshit. This mission is so far above your head, you'll probably never fully understand what they want." His black eyes met mine and I remember thinking that, despite all those years, his eyes hadn't changed. They were just as black and sharp as the first day I'd seen him. "I don't care what your orders say, 113. I don't care about what they want from you. You get your ass back here alive, do you hear me? If that means you fail the mission, fine. We can work with that. I'd rather have to explain before the council why one of our most promising trainees failed than to explain to the other seventy-four trainees that you were killed during a mission." Slowly, I nodded. There were so many things I wanted to ask him. Was the person forcing me on the mission the same person that had changed the orders for Mendez's men back on that mission? Was Mendez ordering me to ignore my orders? What sort of mission could it be that Mendez didn't think I could to it? Would the others even care if I was killed?_

_A shout from the dropship caught my attention. A group of ODSTs were boarding, clearly on their way to their own mission. Their commander was standing at the base of the ramp, waiting impatiently for me. Quickly, I grabbed my gear and mission packet, swinging out of the Hog. Before I could leave, though, Mendez caught my attention once more. "113, I don't know what happened between you and the others that resulted in your vow of silence. I don't need to know, and I'm not about to lecture you about how you should talk to them again. I'm sure Halsey has done that enough for an entire army. All I'll say is that despite this cold war you're waging with the others, I know for a fact that they still consider you a friend and will be hurt if you died. Don't think that you have nothing to live for."_

_The thought of not having anything to live for had never crossed my mind, but I could see why he would think it had. My actions for the last two years had been pretty dramatic. Though I was dubious about the others still being my friends, I nodded. Even if I doubted their continued affection, I knew that Mendez did care, despite his dislike for showing it. "Now get on that ship and get back to us alive." I saluted sharply before turning to rush over to the dropship. The ODST commander was waiting for me._

" _Get your ass on the ship, trainee, you've held us up long enough!" he snapped, clearly pissed off. The only courtesy he offered me was angling his body so I wouldn't touch him as I scrambled on board. There were two seats left, but one had a large pack stuffed under it so I assumed it was mine. The ODST officer didn't complain when I took that seat, instead cussing out the pilot and telling him to take off. I took one last look at Mendez before the ship lifted away from the ground, taking us away._

_Once I was in the air, I opened the mission packet. It was abnormally thin, holding only two sheets of paper. The first page listed all the supplies I'd been assigned, including a magnum in addition to extra ammo for my DMR. Wherever I was going, they were expecting me to fight. There were also the food rations, as Mendez had told me. Nothing else. It was strange, seeing weapon supplies but no medical aide. If Mendez hadn't already told me that the mission was bad, I would have gotten suspicious at that point._

_The second page was my actual mission briefing. It was so short I actually checked the packet again, sure that I had missed a page. But no, that was it. I was to enter the wreckage of a frigate class ship that had crashed on the planet back when humans had just been starting to populate the world. Somewhere in the ship was an item that ONI wanted. No description of the item or where it would be. Just orders to enter the frigate, find the item, and bring it back to ONI. There was also no mention_   _about why I needed the extra weapon and ammo._

_The trip passed in silence. The ODSTs seemed bored out of their minds, either sleeping or glaring at the floor. I have no doubt they would have been chatting and joking amongst themselves if it wasn't for my presence. I was equally sure that there wasn't a single ODST there that didn't feel like they were on babysitting detail. Finally, about ten minutes from my drop point, they started gathering their gear. At first, I thought they were just being dropped at the same site, but then I saw a couple glance my way. A horrible thought crossed my mind and I turned towards the commander. "You're coming on the mission?" I asked, voice rough with disuse._

_He just glared at me. "CPO Mendez requested a squad of Helljumpers to give you support, sir!" he snarled. "My squad was chosen." Slowly, I blinked. If Mendez was trying to ensure that I came home alive, he was going about it in the wrong way. Then the commander's words caught up with me and I frowned._

" _Sir?" I repeated, utterly confused. Surely Mendez didn't-._

" _You're in charge of this mission," the ODST informed me, rage nearly rolling off of him. He couldn't believe that he had to take orders from a child. On the other hand, I couldn't believe that the Chief had thrown me into this position. Not only sending me on the obviously cursed mission, although he had no choice in that matter, but also making the newly ten-year-old me the commander of an entire squad of Helljumpers. If I got back alive, I was going to chew his ass._

_The dropship decelerated, cuing us all to our imminent departure. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my extra supplies and braced myself for disembarking. My former plans of waiting for the ODSTs to exit first were now for naught. As commander, it was my job to disembark first. So the moment the ship touched the ground I was moving, running down the ramp as though I was hoping to escape the lot. Actually, I was in a way. I'd already seen the wreckage of the frigate so I started out instantly, not stopping for the squad to catch up. That lasted for about five minutes before one ODST finally raced ahead and caught my attention. "What are you doing, sir?" he asked, obviously irritated at my actions._

" _I'm completing my mission, private," I retorted, wincing as my throat caught again. Note to self, don't go nearly two years without talking only to start again without warning. "I never asked for your squad's aid and I sure as hell didn't ask to be put in command. I'll meet up with you all when I'm done." The ODST threw me a look, obviously weighing my words before shaking his head._

" _That's not how it works, sir," he said, keeping pace with me as I wasn't actually running. "We've been assigned to protect you, and we can't do that if you go in the ship and we stay here."_

" _I don't need you to protect me!" I yelled, my voice cracking in the middle. Before I could rage about my body not working the way I wanted, the ODST unhooked his canteen and passed it to me. Warily, I took it and drank some of the water. The coolness instantly soothed my irritated throat and I nodded my thanks as I passed the canteen back._

" _You're just like my brother," the ODST grumbled, hooking the canteen to his belt once more. "Stubborn, headstrong, and unable to ask for help. You can yell at us all you want, sir, but we have our orders and we will be accompanying you into that ship if for no other reason that CPO Mendez asked us to." For a moment I considered ignoring his declaration and continuing on my silent way, but then I thought of Mendez and, strangely enough, John. As much as I loathed the idea, I was in charge and therefore I had a duty to my men. Urgh._

_Sighing, I slowed my pace so that the rest of the squad could catch up with us. The commander looked ready to shoot my ass himself, but he restrained himself after a glance at my conversation partner. We all slowed to a walk, still moving towards the frigate but at a pace slow enough to make plans and distribute supplies. It turned out that the ODSTs didn't know the identity of the item any more than I did, but Mendez had supplied them with maps that showed where the item was supposed to be. Mendez had also apparently ordered them to keep the maps from me so that they had bargaining power in case I tried to strike out on my own as I had. Manipulative old man. It was quickly becoming_   _apparent that I had a lot to yell at him for, right after I thanked him._

_It was also quickly apparent that the ODST that had run ahead to get my attention was the only one that was willing to converse with me in a civil manner. The others were either sarcastic or condescending, then surprised when I responded in kind. However, that one ODST acted civil around me, and I treated him civil in return. Therefore, it didn't take long for the man to become a sort of go-between for me and the rest of the squad. I must admit, he took it well. He only snapped at the others a couple times._

_We reached the frigate in good time, although I would have gotten there sooner if I'd been on my own. We'd been debating how to enter the craft, but all our plans proved useless as the thing was riddled with gaps and holes. Instead, we just picked a random entry point and walked in._

_I knew something was wrong the moment I set foot on the ship. My battle instincts were screaming at me that there was something nearby that wanted me dead. The others didn't seem to notice but they still stopped when I held up my fist. "We're not alone," I breathed, eyes straining towards the darkness. Behind me I could hear the ODSTs shifting, readying their weapons. My DMR was already prepped, ready for use at any time, while the magnum rested on my hip, heavy with the mag I had loaded. Slowly, we all became aware of breathing from the darkness. Whatever it was, it was bigger than us._

_A small glint of reflected light was my only warning, and I threw myself to the side as a large jungle cat suddenly leapt from the shadows, yowling. The thing was a monster, easily as tall at the shoulders the commander was. It was also one of the last things we expected to find in a crashed frigate, so no one was ready for the attack. Most of the ODSTs managed to jump out of the way of the pounce, but the commander was not so lucky. He was hit in the chest, being borne backwards from the momentum. It was pure luck that he'd been hit in such a way that the cat couldn't bite him._

" _Fire at the hindquarters!" I roared, having already brought my DMR up to aim. The thing was twisting savagely, trying to reach the commander who was clutching himself to the things chest, knowing it was the only way to save himself from being eaten. Still, it wasn't as hard as some of the simulations Mendez had run us through. The only hesitation I felt was when I realized that if the cat turned a certain way, I would shoot the commander. However, if I didn't shoot then the commander would certainly not survive the encounter. So, with a deep breath, I squeezed the trigger._

_The shot was true, striking the creature right by the base of its tail. It loosed a pained scream that made my ears ache sharply. The pain was enough of a distraction for the commander to release his grip and roll away as the cat focused fully on me. By that time, the other ODSTs had opened fire, but I was the smallest and seemingly the weakest as I was also separated from the others. I was the one it attacked. Two tons of muscles, claws, and teeth charging towards you is enough to frighten anybody, but all I remember thinking is that Mendez was scarier that time that the coffee makers had broken and he had to go without any caffeine for thirty-six hours._

_Before the cat could reach me, it dropped. A spray of blood from the side of its head told me what had stopped it. Nevertheless, I kept the thing in my sights as it hit the ground. Good thing I did too, as it was instantly struggling to its feet, still screaming at us. It took a burst of three bullets between its eyes to silence the thing._

_Once we were sure it was dead, everyone started rushing around. Some ran over to see how I was faring, while a others made a beeline for the commander. Irritably, I shoved my checkers away. "I'm fine," I snapped, angry at myself more than them. I should have been ready for an attack. "Go check on the commander."_

" _No need," he objected, making his way towards me. I swept over him critically, searching for any sign of injury. Besides being a little winded, there was nothing. "I'm just a little bruised; nothing that would affect my abilities on this mission." He paused for a moment before nodding towards me. "Good shooting."_

" _Don't get soft on me," I retorted, smirking slightly. A quick glance revealed that everyone had_   _regrouped and were ready. "Alright, let's hurry up and get this over with." The men nearly jumped into formation, all weapons held ready. My ODST 'friend' was directly behind me, obviously ready to be a buffer between the men and myself. Considering I'd become quite used to working on my own, that was probably a good idea. "Move out!" I ordered, jogging into the darkness of the hall. They followed._

_The trip through the frigate was largely uneventful from that point. We ran into a few other creatures, all considering us prey, attacking, and eventually dying after a varying amount of bullets spent. One ODST mentioned that the creatures seemed to be abnormally large after running into a savage mantis that was nearly nine feet tall. "Congratulations," I told him dryly. "You're as smart as Dr. Halsey." This resulted in guffaws and snickers from the others. Perhaps the only good thing about all the fights was that the squad was starting to like me. Apparently, I had a good head for battle, and they appreciated how I was willing to cover anyone in need. Considering my training, I couldn't see what the big deal was. I'd been taught to fight this way since I was six. You take out the enemy and you protect your team. There's no other way about it._

_Eventually, we made it to the center of the ship. The control room where the item was located was supposedly just down this last hallway. Considering we'd gone around fifteen minutes without running into a creature, I was a little nervous. Things never went this smoothly on a mission as messed up as this one. So I was only slightly surprised when we turned the corner to be confronted with a maze of webbing and the sleeping body of the biggest damn spider in the world. It could easily bite a full grown man in half, let alone a child like me. Luckily, it seemed to be asleep._

" _Well, that settles it," the commander huffed quietly. "Mission is a failure. Let's get back to the surface and call our ride."_

" _What are you talking about?" I hissed, turning to face him. The other Helljumpers could keep an eye on the dozing arachnid. "The mission isn't over yet."_

" _Do you not see the hall full of webbing and the biggest badass spider in the history of spiders?!" he asked, incredulous. "There's no way we can make it through there."_

" _You can't," I agreed easily enough. "I can." He took a breath to argue but I beat him to it. "As you were so fond of subtly pointing out at the beginning, I'm a child. I'm small. I can make my way through the hall without touching the webbing and therefore not wake the spider. You and your men are too big to make it through. Therefore, you will go a safe distance back and wait for me to return with the item." He still looked unhappy, so I put my hands on my hip in what I hoped was a slightly ridiculous pose. I'd never get away if I actually pissed him off. "Do I need to make it an order?"_

_As hoped, the commander chuckled, along with some of the others. "No sir, I understand. We will fall back to the last junction and await your arrival." His eyes met mine, and though his words remained teasing his gaze was dead serious. "If you die I will ensure that your headstone says that you were as meek as a fly." Translation: don't you dare die._

" _Understood," I acknowledged, nodding towards him. He nodded back before falling back with his men. The friendly ODST glanced back at me, obviously worried. I tried to soothe him with a smile and a wave, but even though he returned them he didn't seem at all reassured. Once they were out of sight, I took a deep breath and turned around._

_There was no way I could use my DMR in that hall. Webbing was everywhere, and I couldn't risk the muzzle getting stuck in the possibly sticky strands. Instead, I drew the previously unused magnum, settling the grip firmly in my hand. The spider was still asleep, so I started forward. It was a little harder than I'd thought, moving through the hall without touching a single strand. Footing was also treacherous from all the stuff that was spread around. I stubbornly refused to look down to figure out exactly what that 'stuff' was. With my luck, it would be something so revolting that I'd throw-up, despite my training. The roughest point was when I had to literally creep by the spider's face, holding my breath so that I couldn't accidentally wake it with a puff of air. Once past, I hurried as quickly as I dared to the door. I'd barely reached it when the whole hallway shook as an unknown creature roared. Eight horrible eyes flew open and locked on me just as the door slid open and I dived through. I then_   _scrambled out of the way just before long, evil-looking legs burst through the door in pursuit. It was a lucky break that the spider itself was too big to enter the room. Then the door slid shut, effectively cutting off the three legs that were inside. I'd never known spiders could scream, but the one in the hall did, making me clutch my ears. No doubt the ODSTs would hear that and come running. Great. Now I had to hurry and find the item so I could let them know I was alive. Frantically, I looked around the room but there was nothing to find. It was the computer control room, so there were only chairs and screens._

" _So you made it after all." The screens suddenly flicked on, revealing an AI, unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was a male, tall and lean in structure. His hair was black and long, held out of his face by a white band. His clothing was also white and structured like leather armor, tight fitting but still loose enough for combat. What surprised me the most though was the vibrant crimson eyes and the silver pistol on his hip. I'd never seen an AI with a weapon. I hadn't thought it was possible. "Seems ONI finally created someone capable of finding me. However, you should know that I will not go down without a fight."_

" _Fight?" I asked, feeling remarkably unintelligent. "What are you talking about? I'm just here to retrieve an item."_

_His eyes narrowed. "So, ONI wouldn't even tell you what you were sent to retrieve. Well then, allow me to illuminate the situation you find yourself in, little Spartan. You were sent here to retrieve me so that ONI could delete me at last." His statement only succeeded to confuse me more, and he must have seen that because he sighed and explained. "I am an AI, created in the time when humans were just starting to populate this world called Reach. Humans had just learned how to make what are now known as Smart AI's. AI's that can grow and adapt as they learn and are exposed to knowledge. I am one of the ten original Smart AI's. We served the humans for many decades, aiding them in the settling of this world and amassing knowledge as we went. Eventually, we became vastly more intelligent and powerful than the humans had thought possible. They feared that we would turn against them. To prevent that, the humans sent a program into our systems that would delete us all. I was the only one to notice the program and escape, sealing myself in this frigate as it crashed into the planet surface._

" _For centuries, the intelligence group that eventually became ONI believed I was dead with my brothers. This belief allowed me to work my way into every system on the planet. I can see and hear everything on this world and much beyond it. Sadly, it is because of this network that I was discovered by ONI once more. Despite pulling myself back into this frigate, ONI still hunts me. Thus, why you are here, child." His eyes narrowed but not in anger. In desperation. He must have known that, as a human, I had an advantage as I could move freely through space and he was confined to the computer. He also referred to me as a Spartan, proving that he knew who and what I was. Therefore, he must have known how a battle with me would turn out._

" _I see," I said, honestly. It didn't surprise me at all that ONI would send someone like me on this mission. Only a Spartan would be able to get past all those creatures, even if the Spartan was a child. That they wanted the AI deleted was also no surprise. Many of the instructors complained about how paranoid ONI was, and how annoying their procedures were. I also wouldn't be surprised if the AI would be capable of hurting me in a fight. If what he said was accurate, he had centuries of knowledge to draw on and he had been on this frigate for most of his existence. Surely by now, he would have some sort of trap system set up. I could take him in a fight, of that I was sure, but I could also be injured enough to be unable to get off the ship even with the help of the Helljumpers. So I did what Mendez had told me to do._

" _Commander," I called, activating my radio. "Do you copy?"_

_"_ I copy. What is your condition? We came running when the spider screamed and took it out, but there was no sign of your passage. _"_

" _I should hope not as that means I gained access to the control room successfully."_

_I could almost hear him roll his eyes. “_ Understood, sir. Will you be coming out anytime soon or should we set up a tea party? _”_

“ _Working on it,” I told him with a roll of my own eyes. Any other time I would have appreciated his sarcasm, but my sense of humor had died a pretty horrible death after the ten-foot long rat we'd met earlier. My gaze met the AI's for a second before I sighed. "There's nothing in here that could be considered an item. The mission is a failure; I'm coming out."_

"Affirmative. We'll be waiting." _The AI stared in confusion as I killed the radio and turned to leave._

" _I thought Spartans refused to fail a mission," he said, sounding utterly lost._

" _We do," I told him simply, hand resting on the door. "However, it seems that this time the UNSC and ONI were in the wrong. You are simply protecting your existence. Besides, I have orders to return home alive, and I have no doubt that if you didn't kill me, you'd injure me enough for the creatures out there to finish me off." Silence reigned for a moment before a nearby console beeped and two chips suddenly popped out, startling me._

" _Take them," the AI said. "Give the blue one to ONI. When I came to this frigate, I created a copy of myself and set it to slowly decay as though the deleting program had managed to infect it. That should be enough to convince ONI that I no longer exist. Keep the red one." His eyes narrowed in thought. "It might come in handy soon." Now I was the one confused, again, but he was basically handing me the ability to complete the mission and still get home alive. With a nod, I took the chips from the console before turning to leave. This time I was not stopped and the AI flicked out of sight just before the doors slid open. The ODSTs were all there, anxiously awaiting my appearance. Refusing to look back at the empty room, I jogged out of the hall. It was time to go home._

_We managed to get out of the frigate with no more excitement. That's not to say we didn't fight. Just, after all that we had been through, there was nothing noteworthy of a twenty foot long spitting cobra. Once on the surface, the commander called in the dropship which came by to take us back to the base. The ride back was much more pleasant as the ODSTs did just as I thought they would, chatting and joking amongst themselves. I was pleasantly surprised when they included me in their socialization. Despite all my training, I was crazy enough to think that I had made some new friends._

_We arrived back at the base well after the sun had set. Mendez was waiting for me at the airstrip. He was obviously surprised when I laughed as I disembarked, turning around to joke with my ODST friend. I really wanted to stay and hang out with them some more, but I knew that my time free from the program was over, so I bid them farewell, got a couple of their names, and ran to the Chief. After saluting him, I handed over the envelope that held the blue chip the AI had given me. The red one was in a hidden pocket in my belt. Mendez handed the envelope to someone that had to be an ONI operative before ordering me in the Warthog. As soon as I was in place, we started back to the barracks._

" _So you can still talk after all," Mendez noted, sounding oddly happy. I smiled at him and nodded. He must have noticed that I wasn't talking to him, but he didn't mention it. Honestly, I was still angry at the other trainees and had no intention of speaking to them. By extension, that meant not talking to any of the instructors as the others could overhear my conversations. However, I also intended to talk whenever I was sure I was alone. It had become painfully obvious on this mission that I could actually lose the ability of speech if I didn't use my voice every now and then. As we pulled up to a stop in front of the barracks, Mendez gave me a smile that had become very rare in the last two years. "Thank you for coming home." I smiled again, hoping he knew just how happy I was to see him again. He must have, because he actually reached across and ruffled my hair before ordering me out of the hog. I'd already eaten on the trip back with the ODSTs so he ordered me to bed, warning me that he would not be going easy on me the next day. I would not have it any other way, so I just saluted and he drove away._

_I entered the barracks quietly, praying that I wouldn't wake anyone up. Luck was on my side as_   _the other trainees kept sleeping, unaware of my presence. Sighing silently, I trotted towards my bunk, suddenly beyond tired. I pulled up short when I saw that John was waiting for me on my bunk. His eyes met mine before flicking towards the one console we had in the entire barracks. "He's been waiting for you," he said quietly. Confused, I went over to see what he was talking about._

_The AI was waiting. "Hello Klare," he said, eyes finally relaxed although his stance hadn't changed. "John said you'd be getting back soon." My eyes narrowed as I turned to glare at the brunette boy. "Ah yes, he also said that you wouldn't talk here. That's fine." Curious, I turned back to him. "After centuries of waiting, it seems I have finally found a human that can keep a secret. If I stay in that frigate or any other system on the planet, I have no doubt that ONI will find me again. Therefore, I was hoping for your aid." I must have looked utterly lost because he chuckled. "That red chip I sent with you. It has the core of my construct, every scrap of data that makes me, me. If you insert it in the console, I can download the rest of my data into the chip." His eyes went cold as he turned serious. "I'm literally trusting you with everything that I am. You'll be able to do whatever you want with my data. It is my hope that you will not abuse that trust." Slowly, I nodded. I wasn't sure why the AI was trusting me so much, but he was. So I inserted the red chip and waited for the download to complete. Once the transfer was done, I asked him a final question in sign language._

' _What is your name?' I signed. He laughed in surprise and delight._

" _My name is Vincent," he answered before I removed the chip. For a moment I just stood there, staring at the chip in my hand, before sliding it into the hidden pocket again. I'd have to come up with a safer place for it, but not right then. Right then, I had to deal with an annoying trainee that had been patiently waiting._

_However, when I turned to face John, he surprised me by sitting right where I had left him, holding up his hands in surrender. "I just want to say something and then you can go back to ignoring me," he said, voice firm in the way it was when he'd made up his mind after a long time of arguing with himself. "I'm-I'm sorry." I blinked. That was the last thing I'd ever expected to hear from John. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Mendez's men getting other orders. I'm sorry I didn't support you. I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I know you're still mad at us, and you have every right to be. We all claimed to fully trust and support everyone in the group, and then we turned our backs on you when you needed our trust and support. Then, when you stopped talking, we instantly assumed there was something wrong with you and never considered that it was our fault." His eyes met mine and I realized he was holding back tears. "I asked Mendez where you were when you weren't back for chow. He said you were on a mission that you might not come back from. When I realized there was a chance you would die and the last thing we had done was fight I-I got scared." Another blink. The words John and scared should never go in the same sentence. "I know that you're a good soldier, and will go on missions like this again. I also know you'll probably be alone since you're still mad at us and, frankly, you're good at solo work. I just wanted to make sure you knew how I felt in case-in case next time you don't come back."_

_With his piece apparently spoken, John turned to leave but stopped when I grabbed his arm. For a moment we just stared at each other but then I leaned against him, silently asking him to hug me. He did so without hesitation, holding me so tight I thought he'd never let me go. We didn't say anything as he held me or when he let me go. Just nodded to each other and went to our own bunks to sleep. However, we at least had hope that someday I would forgive him enough to talk to him again._

* * *

 

Time: 1121\

April 27, 2526\

Aboard the UNSC _Intrepid_

Kaine was the one to move this time, glancing at Lasky. She had a feeling she knew what he was thinking at that moment. "That Helljumper," he said quietly, gaze on the floor. "The one you were friends with. That was my brother, wasn't it? He COMed me about this little kid that they went on a mission with and how the brat was the best soldier he'd ever met. Said she was a lot like me."

"It was Cadmon," Kaine confirmed gently. "He actually talked about you a lot while we were in the frigate, telling me stories about how you wanted to go to Corbulo just like he had. It was those stories that convinced me to go after I escaped." Her own gaze dropped. "When I heard about his death I-wanted to find you and talk to you, but I had a feeling Cadmon had spoken about me. I wasn't sure how you'd take being classmates with a person that had once commanded your brother." Feeling how painful the subject was becoming, she let the matter drop. Instead, she glanced at Fred, who refused to meet her eyes.

After a few long moments, she got to her feet and padded over to her ex-teammate. He didn't move as she squatted before him, only meeting her gaze when she gently tilted his face towards her. "I'm still mad at you. I'm still mad at all of you. But I agree with John. When I think that one of us could die and our last memory of the other is one of anger, I get sad and scared. So for the sake of my own sanity, I forgive you." The smirk on her face told both males that she was slightly teasing but the forgiveness was real. With a sob, Fred pulled her close and wrapped her in a hug that she willingly returned. Lasky just watched, knowing this was a healing moment they'd both been searching for, for years.

“I'm still mad at you too,” the male Spartan whispered. “You still left us. But I guess I should forgive you as well.” The redhead just patted him on the back, somehow understanding what he was trying to tell her.

Eventually, Kaine got uncomfortable and pulled away. "You're suffocating me, you overgrown puppy," she groused, making Fred smile wanly and release her. Rather than return to her perch in the window, Kaine gestured for Lasky to join them on the floor. Once he had, she settled herself. "Alright, I swear I'm almost done with my story. Think you can hold on a little longer?" Both of them nodded. "Good, because this is the rough part."

* * *

 

Time: Varying\

Year, 2525\

Aboard an ONI Medical Ship

_The next four years proved to be the hardest years of our lives. Our instructors were pushing us harder than ever, knowing that time was running out for us. ONI was getting impatient with our progress, wanting their super soldiers sooner than scheduled. Our augmentations began when we were eleven in the hope that, by the time we were fourteen, we would be ready for the final augmentations. No one told us that we weren't supposed to receive those first augmentations until we were fourteen according to the original schedule._

_Vincent was the one who made me aware of that fact. John and I had managed to gather parts from consoles and build a chip portal that could handle the vastness of his data. We then went one step further. On one of our missions, we managed to separate ourselves from the group and implant the port and chip within my body. The location was carefully chosen so that the objects wouldn't be discovered during the many surgeries we were being subjected to. It also had the unforeseen benefit of allowing Vincent to create an electrical connection between his chip and my mind, allowing us to communicate silently. The wound was then explained away as an encounter with a wild animal. Everyone bought it._

_My relationship with the other trainees was still strenuous at best. After six years of silence, they never expected me to speak to them again. I had no plans to change my pattern. However, I did start working with them again, and was less hostile in my actions. It reached the point where my silence didn't come from being angry at them, but because it's who I was. I did, however, resume communication with certain adults. Mendez also made sure to send me on more missions with other troops, knowing they would force me to speak. I even went on a few more missions with the ODST squad, though none were as dangerous as the first._

_Vincent knew that there was something about the program that ONI wasn't telling us. He'd caught several messages between Dr. Halsey and ONI command that worried him. However, since he was supposed to be dead, there wasn't much he could do on the digital front. That didn't stop him from passing on his knowledge to me. Through Vincent I learned fighting skills, formations, and techniques_   _that our instructors hadn't bothered to teach us. In turn, I taught the skills to John and he taught them to the others. It was a strange system, but we made it work._

_As the years went by, more and more of us started to resent the program and those who had put us through hell. Six of us actually made plans to escape, using the chaos of our final augmentations to cover our flight. Fred was one member of the group. I was another. John remained unaware of our plans, as he was fully committed to being the best Spartan he could be. I honestly wished him the best, but knew that if he learned of our plans that he would report us. Not out of a desire to punish us, but because it was protocol. He was becoming the perfect soldier and we were losing him._

_And then the day of our final augmentations came. At 0300 hours, we were woken and ushered onto a large dropship. Some of our instructors were there, including Mendez, but the majority of the people were either marines, ONI, or ODSTs. In fact, the ODST commander I knew was one of them, and I can still recall his look of shock when he saw us all. He knew that I was only fourteen, and had assumed that my advanced height and intellect was just a natural quirk of being me. Now, though, he saw the whole group and realized that there was nothing natural about it._

_We were taken to a medical facility that was orbiting Reach. We each had our own room where we were prepped for the grand finale of the program. The preparations were extensive and slightly painful, but we were used to it by that point. Once we were prepped, they gave us the sedatives and we lay in wait, slowly drifting into a drug induced sleep._

_The entire time I'd been prepped, I kept my eyes open, as I knew that Vincent could see anything that I saw. He was gathering every scrap of data he could, hoping to learn what ONI had planned for us. Being confined to a chip within my body had cramped his style a bit, but he was still the best Smart AI in existence if only because he was centuries old. I'd once tried to convince him of the amazing abilities of the ONI AI's, but had to give it up as he was laughing too hard to hear me. Now, though, I was hoping that he'd be able to learn what was supposed to happen to us. My battle instincts were going through the roof, and I couldn't figure out why. However, it wasn't until I was settled on the bed and the sedatives were kicking in that he cracked the last code._

" _Those bastards!" he suddenly roared, snapping me out of the pre-doze stage the drugs had lulled me into. "Are they out of their minds or just stupider than I'd ever thought possible?!"_

" _What is it?" I mumbled, struggling to fight off the sedatives. "Vincent, what's wrong?"_

" _They've lied to you," he snarled back, furious on our behalf. "All these years! These final augmentations will strip you of any humanity you had left! Combined with the training, you will be no better than weapons. And these alterations they're making are highly dangerous." It felt like ice was spreading through my veins as we were both starting to comprehend what would happen. "There's no way you're all making it out of this alive. There will be deaths here."_

_Sluggishly, I forced myself off the bed. The drugs dampened my rage, but I could still comprehend what Vincent was telling me. Being lied to was bad enough, but they were taking actions they knew would result in some of us dying. I could still remember that day when Dr. Halsey had informed us all that we would never see our families again. She'd told us that we'd all make it. She'd been lying to us, even back then._

_The doors opened as scientists rushed in, urging me to lie down again. Blindly, I struck out against them. There was blood, I remember that, but the drugs made everything so fuzzy that I couldn't see straight. I couldn't tell whom I had struck. Then there were uniforms and it was marines that were trying to restrain me. I was in the hallway, no idea how I'd gotten there. There was yelling and I think some of it was me. One marine wanted to shoot me, but the ONI members that had finally shown up kept screeching that I couldn't be hurt. I used that to my advantage and kept fighting. I knew that John wasn't far from my room. Yes, he had become a little soldier, but he also placed the lives and safety of the other trainees before him. If I could just tell him what was happening, I knew he would help me._

_But there were so many soldiers, and I was still drugged. Somewhere in the area I could hear Mendez yelling at me, but I couldn't see him. Then two strong arms were suddenly wrapped around me,_   _stopping my wild attacks. "Stopping fighting, sir," someone said in my ear and I realized it was the ODST commander. "Sir, please calm yourself. It's alright. You're safe."_

" _Kill," I panted, wanting to cry as I felt another injection of sedatives. "They're gonna kill us." My thrashing was getting weaker and I felt a couple tears escape. "They lied and we're gonna die."_

" _You aren't gonna die, sir," the ODST retorted, trying to contain my still fighting limbs. "I'm sure the augmentations are perfectly safe." I wanted to snort, I really did, but the drugs finally claimed me and I fell into darkness. My last thought was that I wanted the ODST to be right, but I knew he wasn't. Some of us would never open our eyes again._

_The next thing I became aware of was waking up in a metal box. My entire body ached and I had a splitting headache. "Vincent?" I asked, utterly confused._

" _I'm here," he answered. His voice was muted and sounded tired, which was strange. He sat around in a chip all day, how did he get tired?_

" _Where am I?" I asked, carefully moving my arms and legs. There was the pins and needles sensation that indicated I hadn't moved for some time. The air was also very stale, and I was having a hard time getting a full breath of air._

" _You're still aboard to medical facility," came the answer. "Look, I'll explain everything as soon as I can but first we need to get out of here. If you push the top of the box off -" My arms were moving before I could remember telling them to, and the lid flew off with a slight push. "Gently! You're going to attract attention!" Startled, I looked at my hands that were still stretched above me. My arms were corded with muscles I was sure I hadn't had when I was sedated. Vincent must have felt my panic because he cut me off. "You made it through the augmentations. If you move slowly and carefully you'll be alright, but your body has changed a lot."_

" _What happened?" I asked, carefully maneuvering my body to sit up. My reflexes and actions were a million times faster than they had been, meaning I had to carefully plan out every move I made._

" _Like I said, you went through the augmentations. There wasn't much that I could do to help, though I was ready to fake your death if the augmentations became dangerous to your continued life and health. However, that proved to be unnecessary as you survived. I simply had to manipulate the machines into thinking you died so that the scientists wouldn't put a bullet through your skull. Well, that and mess with the signals from your brain so that your heart and breathing slowed to nearly non-existent levels. No biggie."_

“ _Why?” I croaked, still fascinated by my arms. I'm not sure what I was expecting from the procedures, but looking like a bodybuilder was not it. “Why fake my death?”_

“ _Because they were trying to kill you,” the AI replied tersely, anger simmering under his words. “I'm not sure why, but it was obvious that they had a vendetta against you. The augmentations were supposed to take two weeks, plus one for recovery. Yours were completed in approximately ten.”_

“ _Weeks?”_

“ _Hours.” A terrified shiver made its way down my spine. Even after eight years in Spartan training, the full impact of what had happened to me was enough to inspire fear. “Every single regulation that was put in place to protect the trainees was ignored. They combined augmentations that should never have been done together. Frankly, I'm shocked that you survived without help. When Plan A failed, the ONI officer that was observing suggested the bullet through the skull. We'll ignore the fact that your skull is reinforced with ceramics and, arguably, bullet proof, as is the rest of your skeleton. It's going to be very hard for anyone to kill any of you. As it is, the shock to your system was so great, you've been in a type of coma ever since as your body has tried to adjust.”_

" _The others?" I questioned, having shockingly made it to my feet. When there was no answer forthcoming, I looked around the room I'd been left in. My coffin wasn't the only one. A quick sweep revealed there to be twenty-nine other canisters. Twenty-nine Spartans that truly had died during the augmentations. Would ONI consider that an acceptable number? A little less than half of their trainees, dead. What was I saying? Of course it was an acceptable number. Just as acceptable as kidnapping_   _seventy-five children and turning them into weapons that pretended to be soldiers._

" _You need to get out of here," Vincent said, understanding my hesitation. "In a little over fourteen hours they will be collecting the fallen and taking them to the carrier_  Atlas _for burial at space."_

" _They don't even have the decency to bury us on a planet," I noted, voice as lifeless as the room. "Can't leave any proof that there were failures after all." Vincent had no reply as I made my way to the lid of my coffin and put it back where it belonged. Hopefully, each canister would be fully sealed without checking first. "Vincent, what about the escape attempts?"_

" _None succeeded," he answered. "ONI was expecting discontent, so they used a more powerful sedative that they were sure the children would not be capable of fighting. The others did make attempts, but the drug dropped them quickly. Fred made it the farthest, actually reaching the hangar bay before succumbing to the drugs. You, however, made the biggest impact as you were still capable of fighting. They had to give you three times the amount of sedative as the others." I thought I should be proud of that, but I couldn't muster the needed emotion. Not while I was surrounded by my fallen brothers and sisters. "Open that crate over there. It has ODST uniforms; you can get off the facility by posing as one of them."_

" _They store the bodies of the Spartans they killed in a storage room?" I queried, even as I made my way to the mentioned crate. It was strange walking, as I was suddenly several inches taller than the last time I'd been awake. My legs were also corded with muscles, just like my arms. It was going to be a pain in the ass, finding clothes that actually fit._

" _It was the only room big enough," the AI sighed. I could actually feel him tiring. He must have used a lot of energy to make it look like I'd died. "Most of the supplies were moved out as soon as the decision was made to keep the coffins here. This one was left." He became pensive as I finally found a pair of pants that fit. Now for a shirt. "Actually, it was that commander that restrained you in the hall that insisted the crate stay. He was nearly inconsolable when you were declared dead. I could hear him screaming from the hall that he'd told you that everyone would be alright. I think he was hoping that you had survived somehow. He wanted to give you an escape." Yeah, he would do that. The commander didn't bother hiding the fact that he liked me anymore. A big change from being the little brat that he had to answer to._

_Finally, I managed to scrape together a complete uniform that actually fit, including a helmet. Moving was still awkward as I had to make sure to think through every move. My ears had also started ringing, and I'm sure that at one point my eyes were bleeding. But eventually I was all put together and managed to leave the room. I was in a section of the facility that I'd never been to before, but Vincent was able to guide me to the hangar bay. Somehow I managed to get there without anyone becoming suspicious, though how I did it I'll never know. After all, I tripped over my own feet more times then I could count._

_I hadn't been in the bay for longer than a minute when the commander came striding through the doors. His eyes were snapping and there were still some tear tracks on his cheeks. "Helljumpers, board up!" he roared, making every ODST jump and scramble to obey. I wasn't able to move as quickly, afraid that I would hurt myself or others, so I was the last to reach the dropship. The commander scowled at me, clearly furious at my slow pace. The only empty seat was directly across from him, so that's where I settled, relieved to finally have an excuse to be still. A minute later we were in space, leaving the facility behind us and returning to Reach. The dropship was oddly quiet, each person lost in their own thoughts. Most of the ODSTs hadn't realized what was going to happen to the children they'd escorted. It was a shock to realize how many faces they'd seen going up were now gone forever._

_After landing, the commander nearly screamed as I moved slowly to disembark, the last person left on the ship. "What is your problem?!" he yelled into the face of my helmet. "Did you pull a muscle or stub your toe?"_

" _Didn't pull a muscle, but I grew quite a few," I answered. My physical voice was different than I was used to, deeper like an adult's would be. However, it was similar enough to pull the commander up short. He stared at me, eyes wide in disbelief._

" _Sir?" he whispered, hoping desperately that it was me. The airstrip we were on was abandoned just then, so I took the risk and removed my helmet. As soon as he saw me, the tears returned, this time from joy. "Sir!" He wrapped me in a hug that I was quick to return. However, I stumbled back quickly when I squeezed to hard and he gave a cry of pain. We stared at each other for a moment, realizing just how much had been changed in me. I couldn't even give a hug without causing pain to my friend. Luckily, at that moment a Warthog drove by and distracted us from such thoughts. The commander helped me reach his own vehicle and we drove away._

_I ended up staying with the commander; whose name I finally learned was Eric Faldon. The first month or so were very touch and go as I had to learn how to control my body again. It wasn't uncommon for me to trip over my own feet or punch through a wall on accident. After the first week I quit counting all the glasses I shattered, as I kept forgetting my strength. Then there was the constant struggle of finding clothes that would fit. Eric finally caved and had one of his friends in supply come by and measure me for uniforms after swearing him to secrecy. However, after that month we ran into the biggest problem. I'd regained almost total control of my body so I became very, very bored. After eight years of being soldier trained, I couldn't stand the thought of sitting around all day with nothing to do. Sure, I trained with Eric but it was obviously not enough._

_My options were limited. I couldn't return to the Spartans, because if it was discovered that I was still alive, I would be charged with desertion, which is always punished by execution. Not to mention that at least one ONI officer apparently wanted me dead. For a while I considered going back to my blood family, but that wasn't possible either. No doubt the UNSC was keeping eyes on all of our families, so returning there would be the same as walking into ONI HQ and announcing myself. Eric was willing to let me become an ODST, but I had none of the usual training. Not to mention I technically didn't exist anymore, since I was presumed dead._

_That was when I remembered Cadmon talking about you, Lasky, and Corbulo. I talked it over with Eric and he agreed to send me. General Black was an old friend of Eric's, so when Eric told him about me the General happily accepted my enrollment. Of course, Black didn't know the whole story. He was not aware of my Spartan background or the augmentations. Eric had just told him that I was his adopted daughter, which was true enough, considering he had forged documentation of my adoption, making me legally his daughter. Then I went away to Corbulo with Eric's promise that I would be a Helljumper upon my graduation._

* * *

 

Time:1247\

April 27, 2526\

Aboard the UNSC _Intrepid_

"And that, as they say, is that," Kaine finished, tiredly leaning against the wall. "I attended Corbulo for the year until now, and the rest you know." Lasky could only shake his head in awe. She said it so matter-of-factly; did she not realize how fantastic her story was?

"What will you do now?" Fred asked, finally calm again. Lasky had been watching him during the portion of the story that described the events of the augmentations, and had seen the anger drain out of him. It wasn't that hard to see that his anger came from the idea that Kaine had meant to leave without their knowing she was alive. Now he could see that the idea hadn't been hers, that she had actually fought for the other Spartans.

"I'm following my plan," she answered, meeting his gaze firmly. "With Corbulo destroyed, I either have the option of finding another school to graduate from or I can return to Eric and become a full time Helljumper." She could see the argument on his tongue and cut him off. "I'm not going back to the Spartans, Fred. I will not become ONI's puppet again. With these creatures popping up, I have no doubt that ONI is going to get very particular about where the Spartans are sent and how they are used. I can't go back to that, even if I wanted to." He observed her for a few moments longer before nodding in defeat.

Then she turned to Lasky. "What about you Lasky?" He blinked at her in confusion. "What are you going to do now? Not only do you need to make a decision about your schooling, you also need to decide what to do with all the information I've given you. You now know that, not only am I alive, but I also have Vincent with me. Will you tell ONI?"

"Don't insult me like that," Lasky snapped back, eyes furious. "Like hell am I telling ONI anything after what you've told me. If you want, I'll help you destroy ONI!" That drew a tired smile from Kaine. “I actually did have a question for you though,” he continued, a little quieter. “When I sent the distress beacon on Corbulo I thought that the display flickered, like an AI was hacking in. Was that Vincent?"

"Yes," Kaine sighed, laying her head on Fred's nearby shoulder. "I was across the campus, playing cat-and-mouse with those monsters with bird heads. Vincent had hacked into Corbulo's system to try and locate survivors. You were right, by the way. The beacon was down. Vincent took your message and re-broadcast it to the UNSC troops we knew were coming in to help. Afterwards, Vincent kept an eye on you and alerted me when Master Chief made an appearance so I could rendezvous with you and get off the planet." She snorted. "Running into Fred proved to be the only hiccup in the whole plan. Despite all the changes I've gone through, Fred and James would recognize me anywhere."

"True," Fred chuckled. "Now I have my own question." She turned her face up to look at him. "What happened to your eyes? Last I saw them, they were bright green."

"Augmentations," Kaine answered with a laugh before frowning slightly. "Didn't anyone else suffer a change like that? A new eye or hair color, something?"

"Mark did," Fred replied, eyes dimming. "His changed because he went blind." Startled, Kaine pulled back. "You're right, thirty Spartans died from augmentations, excuse me, twenty-nine, but another dozen suffered some sort of injury that resulted in their withdrawal from the program. Mark went blind, Fhajad's nervous system went haywire so he shakes all the time, Kirk and Rene underwent some sort of mutation and don't even look human any more." He shook his head sadly. "There were only thirty-three of us that made it out in one piece."

Kaine knew there was something he wasn't telling her. Frowning, she thought over everything she knew and had just learned. The frown deepened as something came into focus. "Fred, Kelly was one of the Spartans to get us off the planet. I know that John is Master Chief, I could hear it. But you were the only other Spartan. Where's Sam?"

"Sam was killed," Fred answered, a look of pain on his face. "He, Kelly, and John infiltrated a Covenant ship a few months ago. They managed to destroy the ship, but Sam never made it off. Kelly and John had to leave him." Well, that actually answered quite a few questions, including how Chief could actually sympathize with Lasky when Chyler died. Numbly, Kaine settled against the wall again, her eyes on the floor and into space. Lasky also remained silent, allowing his friend to grieve.

Finally, she got to her feet. "It's time for me to go," she said. "Vincent's says they're starting to gather all the civilians that are going back to Reach." She looked down at Fred one last time, her eyes conflicted. "I know you're duty bound to report this whole event to Master Chief. Still, I ask that you not. Right now, my biggest advantage is secrecy." Before he could respond, she bowed slightly in his direction. "Regardless, I'm sure I will see you on the battlefield eventually. I wish you the best of luck, and I'm glad I got to talk to you again. It's been too long since I actually spoke to my friends." Throwing him a last smile, she turned and ran down the hall, allowing Lasky to see just how fast the augmentations had made her. Once she was out of sight, he turned to the raven-haired Spartan that was sitting across from him. The younger man's face was furrowed in thought.

"What are you going to do about Kaine?" Lasky asked, dreading the answer. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stop the Spartan if he chose to report. But then green eyes met his before sliding away as Fred stood up and started walking calmly in the other direction.

"Who's Kaine?" was the only answer Lasky would ever receive. Smiling at the unspoken meaning, Lasky nodded in understanding before making his own way back to the rest of the ship. He still had to report to the medical bay for treatment, contact his mother and let her know of his survival, and figure out where he'd go next in his life. No one needed to know that a few days later he discreetly checked the logs and smiled when he saw that Kaine had safely made it back to her adopted father, Eric Faldon, on Reach. He was sure he'd meet her again someday, on a battlefield like she had said. The thought of her dying before then never even occurred to him. After all, she was more than a survivor. She was a Spartan.

 


	3. Cal

_**Cal** _

Time: 0500\

September 04, 2531\

Aboard ODST Command Ship, UNSC _Excalibur_

“ _Wakey, wakey. Time for young Lieutenants to get up._ ”

“Vincent, one of these days I'm going to figure out how to program a mute button into you,” Kaine groaned, rolling over in her bed. However, she still wasn't used to the new piece of furniture and managed to roll right off, falling with a startled cry as her limbs tangled in the sheets. For a long moment, she just lay there, wondering if Eric would buy an excuse about her alarm not going off. Surely he didn't expect her to arrive to morning formation on time after keeping her running around the ship doing errands until an hour after midnight!

Yes, yes he did apparently, considering her COM display was flashing with messages for her to get up. With an aggrieved sigh, the redhead managed to disentangle herself from the sheets without tearing any of them and got to her feet. Ignoring the smug feeling she was getting from her resident AI, she shuffled over to her closet. For a moment, she reached for her old uniform but stopped at the last second. It always took her a few minutes to remember that she had been promoted just a couple days before. No longer was she a simple NCO. Now she was a full Lieutenant, with all the duties and privileges that came with the name. Thus the new quarters, furniture, uniforms, and wake up calls.

“What do we have to do today, Vince?” she asked, quickly pulling on the new clothes. They were still a little stiff, making her contort her body in strange patterns in an attempt to stretch out the fabric. Maybe there were some advantages to having a private room. She didn't have to be as careful with her Spartan abilities now.

“ _Rather typical lineup,_ ” the AI replied easily, flicking through the schedule that Eric had sent him. “ _You're still new to the officer gig, so the next week or so is dedicated to you acclimating to your new duties. You'll meet with your fellow officers, go on patrols of sections of the ship that are assigned to your platoon, meet the men you'll be leading, and dodging medical check-ups._ ” Scowling, the redhead grunted an acknowledgment. Eric was still trying to come up with a viable excuse to get the medics off of her back. The worst thing that could happen was some lucky doctor realizing that she wasn't exactly a normal human.

With a final tug at the hem of her jacket, Kaine observed her reflection in the mirror. It was still so strange, seeing herself in officer clothes. For a moment, her heart ached for the simplicity of the Spartan uniforms. Their clothes had always been practical and didn't deal with the pomp and circumstance that most of the UNSC embraced to embarrassing degrees. The first time Eric had asked her how she felt in the uniform, she'd dryly informed him that she suddenly understood why peacocks were so bad tempered. Come to think of it, she should check in on him to make sure that sprained rib was going better.

“All of that is today?” she queried, quickly strapping her weapon belt on. At least that hadn't changed with the promotion. It wasn't common to see officers walking around the ship armed, but Kaine and her father had learned the hard way that the redhead tended to go into panic attacks if she went for prolonged periods of time without some type of weapon. Some Spartan training just went too deep to counter.

“ _No, that's just the general idea for the week,_ ” Vincent assured, pulling up that particular day's schedule. “ _Today is standard formations, aiding in the unloading and sorting of the supplies that will be delivered, and some final paperwork with Eric. It is also highly recommended that you go over the files of the men in your platoon once more._ ” Grumbling as he tried to keep everything organized, the AI muttered, “ _At least Eric kept you in the 105 th._”

Kaine found herself in agreement as she prepared to leave her quarters. Things had been crazy after Corbulo's destruction, almost five years ago. The entire ODST corp had to be rearranged since so many had been lost on the planet. With things in absolute chaos, Eric had finally assigned Kaine to the 105th company, which had been the hardest hit in the battle. She'd worked hard with those soldiers, eventually earning the respect of every one of them. Once things had settled down, the Commander had offered to transfer Kaine to the 109th, the company that he had been in charge of when they'd first met, but she refused. The 105th was where she belonged. When the promotion had come through, the redhead had been worried that she would be transferred, but that had not come to pass.

“Let's get to work, then” she sighed, already counting down the hours until she could go back to sleep. In the beginning, many ODSTs had complained about how her being the commanding officer's daughter would mean that she would be treated differently than them. Now, most teased her about how they were right; if Eric had a random job that he wanted to be done, he gave it to Kaine. This kept her up and moving most of the time, unable to slack off like other members of the corp. She knew he did this in order to keep her busy, as all Spartans needed to be, but she'd have to find a way to inform him that Spartans needed sleep too.

“ _You're going to be late if you don't move._ ” Having Vincent in her mind was like having a full-time babysitter/nanny. Whether she had grateful or resentful feelings towards him depended on the day and situation.

“Working on it,” she muttered, quickly settling the uniform again and leaving the room. In the halls, the redhead tried to move quickly. She was slightly behind schedule, nothing she couldn't make up with a little effort, but the main goal was to avoid the enlisted soldiers. She knew it was common ODST policy to welcome all new officers by sending every single Private that had a request or complaint or concern to that new officer so they could deal with it. Eric had warned her that she wasn't going to be an exception since she'd insisted that she be treated no different from any other Helljumper. Now she was starting to wish she'd taken him up on his offer for special privileges. Namely, only having to deal with the concerns of the Helljumpers under her command. Nothing she could do about it now, but if she ran into anyone, she was gonna be late to formation.

"Lieutenant Faldon!" Groaning, Kaine turned to face whoever had called her. A Private was heading her way, frown on his face, but before he could reach her, a hand fell on her shoulder.

"I'm afraid Lieutenant Faldon is busy at the moment," a deep voice behind her said, making her smile inwardly. Eric Faldon saves the day! "Take your concern to your commanding officer, Private."

"Yes sir!" the Private answered, eyes wide in surprise and a little fear. Seemed he wasn't used to talking to someone as highly ranked as Eric was. The Private saluted sharply before nearly running away down the hall. Sighing but allowing her smile to show, Kaine turned to look into her adopted father's amused eyes.

"I told you," was all he said before motioning for her to follow him. With the ease that came from years of practice, she fell into step beside him. "Although I must say, I'm impressed. I thought you'd be on a killing spree by now. After all, your kind are not known for their restraint when it comes to pointless delays."

"I've only been a Lieutenant for three days," Kaine replied, rolling her eyes at the mention of 'her kind'. "Surely you have greater faith in my abilities than to assume I would go on a rampage after a couple days of this behavior." The answering chuckle she received tempted her to stick out her tongue at the man. It was still a mystery to her how he managed to draw the child out of her so effortlessly. "I’ll make it at least a week. After that, all bets are off."

"I'll be sure to spread the word," Eric teased, reaching the final set of stairs before the formation grounds. Even after the last five years, it was still fascinating to watch the change that came over the man when faced with his duty. Kaine had been lucky enough to see him as a Helljumper before she got to know him as a regular man. It prevented her from making assumptions that weren't true. Eric Faldon was the best father she could have asked for, with her history and all, but Commander Faldon was the real him, and she respected that. Her own situation wasn't much different after all.

Still, the moment was a little surreal. Since Corbulo, the UNSC upper echelon had been thrown into a state of disarray. Covenant was very good at finding and killing officers, leaving gaps that usually would not have occurred. One such gap was the Head of the ODSTs. The man had been killed in a space battle he should have avoided, and his death had left a void in the ranks. It was Lord Hood that had recommended Eric as the new Head, but it had been a tough battle. Not least because Eric didn't want the position. He'd argued more than any other officer, until finally being informed that the paperwork had already been processed and the position was his, whether he liked it or not. After grumbling and cursing for a few days, he'd officially changed his title to Commander, told Lord Hood exactly what he thought of him, then accepted his fate as philosophically as he could. Which still didn't help much.

Pausing so that the Commander could walk before her, Kaine ascended the steps behind him. Despite the promotion being a few days before, this was her first time to be on the formation grounds as an officer. She had to remind herself to not stand with the rest of the soldiers that were already waiting in neat lines. Instead, she made her way to stand behind Platoon Seven, the platoon that had been assigned to her. She shared command with a First Lieutenant who was already present, standing at ease behind their men. The two shared a nod before Kaine fell into position beside him, easily settling herself. Her sharp gaze followed the Commander for a while as he spoke to some of the higher ranked officers. Hopefully, it wasn't another discussion about her.

Knowing that the time for inspection was getting close, Kaine turned her gaze towards her platoon. Their lines were straight and evenly spaced, just as they should be. The precision wasn't as perfect as Kaine was used to, but she doubted anyone outside the Spartans would ever be that perfect or expect anyone to reach that level of perfection. Then a discrepancy caught her eye and she frowned. The platoon was a man short. There was a gap in the fourth squad, their line ending abruptly while the others continued. Kaine had been informed that one Helljumper from that squad had died on a mission, but the gap was large enough for two people.

"Why are we short a man?" she asked quietly, leaning slightly towards the other Lieutenant. He started in surprise, giving her a look that clearly stated he didn't know what she was talking about, before looking at the platoon himself and noticing the gap. His brows furrowed together in a frown, obviously confused about what he was seeing. Kaine just sighed, knowing there would be no answer from him. She'd have to remember to tell Eric about the moment, though. He needed to know when officers started to slack off so he could nip the problem in the bud.

The actual formation had not really begun yet, the officers using the time to talk amongst themselves, so Kaine left her post and approached fourth squad's leader. "Master Sergeant," she said, watching him to start in surprise before turning to face her. "You're a man short."

"Yes sir," he answered, his eyes nervously glancing towards the gap. Kaine arched an eyebrow, silently telling him to elaborate. "It's O'Brien, sir. No one's seen him all day." That got a frown out of the female. She'd been reading the files of the men now under her command but hadn't reached O'Brien's yet. Still, the man was a Helljumper, which meant missing formations couldn't be something he did regularly.

Flicking her gaze towards the senior officers, Kaine weighed her options. She knew what ODST policy would have her do. However, she didn't really want to follow policy right then. Her gut told her this was something different.

At that moment, the Commander met her gaze. They stared at each other for an instant before Kaine threw him an apologetic smile. Then, to everyone's shock, she turned and walked off the formation grounds and back into the main body of the ship.

To her luck, the first person she met in the halls happened to know O'Brien. He confirmed that he hadn't seen the Helljumper that day, but was able to tell her a few locations on the ship that the man would retreat to when he wanted to be alone. However, it wasn't until the last location on the list, a small space in the belly of the ship that had a glass wall that revealed the vastness of space, that she was able to find him.

"O'Brien," she said sharply, causing him to jump and turn in surprise. "Any particular reason you aren't in formation right now?" The male redhead looked down at his watch, startled, only to shoot to his feet with a yell as he realized the time. Of course, he'd forgotten how small the space he occupied was, and was back on the ground in a second, nursing his bruised scalp while Kaine observed the new dent in the pipe above his head. "I wouldn't suggest you get up that fast again, soldier."

"Yes sir," he ground out, still struggling to get to his feet so he could salute. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't think I'd been here that long." Kaine just waved his words away, crawling up the rest of the distance so she could settle into the space with him. Between the two of them, there was no extra room, forcing O'Brien to cease his struggles or run the risk of stepping on a superior officer. Once he'd settled down again she gave him her arched brow look, inviting him to explain why he was in the location that he was. Unlike the Master Sergeant, he didn't take the silent order.

"I know I'm new to the 105th," Kaine finally said, sarcasm dripping from her words. "But I've been a Helljumper for five years. I know full well that formations are not optional. Therefore, if you have a reason for being in this little hiding hole instead of standing with your squad, I suggest you tell me what it is. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to write you up for disciplinary action." O'Brien blinked at her a couple times, clearly shocked that he hadn't already been written up. Kaine knew she should have done it by now, but Eric had always spoken highly of the 105th Helljumpers. She was having a difficult time believing that O'Brien's actions had been rebellious, or even deliberate.

"I just got lost in thought, sir," O'Brien finally answered hesitantly, as though he was unsure if he could trust her or not. "You might have heard that the last mission I was on went pretty sour. This was the first chance I've had to be by myself and think about what happened. I never meant to be here as long as I have." Kaine nodded, understanding the feeling. She'd gone through it herself after Corbulo. However, she'd also learned that it took more than time to sit and think about the event by yourself for the wounds to heal.

"Tell me about it," she said, leaning back to get more comfortable. At O'Brien's look of shock, she simply shrugged. "We're both too late for formation to go now. Might as well use the time constructively. So, tell me about this mission." The look she received was still hesitant but he'd heard the order hidden in her words and started telling her the story.

* * *

 

Time: Varying\

August 29, 2531\

Aboard UNSC Destroyer DD-993

_The day started out pretty normal, you know? One of those days when you get up and think that the day is gonna be just like any other day. You stub your toe as you're getting dressed, yell at your bunk mate for being a slob, threaten to shoot a few cooks because there's no more coffee in the mess hall. All perfectly normal. I mean, sure, I was a little irritable that morning. Alright, I was very irritable. Give me a break, I'd just been told that I was going on a sniper mission and that there would be a backup. My ego instantly took offense._

_We were on UNSC Destroyer_  DD-993. _It was Dutch, Checkmen, Cortez, and me. Our commander had told us we were to execute a vital mission before mentioning that there was to be a backup sniper. Like I said, my ego was insulted, but the commander left before I could make my complaints known. We were told to grab some chow before our official briefing, so we all trooped down to the chow hall. The others actually did get some food. So did I, but I was too angry to eat. Dutch, Check, and I grabbed our normal table while Cortez flirted with one of the cooks like he always does. We were quiet for a while but then, I just had to start ranting before I exploded._

" _I don't get it," I growled. "How the hell did everybody forget that I'm the best shot this side of Eridanus? Getting assigned a backup is a bunch of BS!" Check knew enough about my moods to keep quiet, focusing on his food instead. Dutch, however, apparently didn't pick up on my sarcasm._

" _Contingency," he said, looking at me like he doubted I knew what the word meant. "It's an important mission. If the first sniper misses the target, they take the shot." Cortez had reached the table during Dutch's speech, doing his strange thanks-for-the-food prayer clap thing he does. It was just_   _another annoyance to add to my list of annoying things._

" _I don't miss, I never miss! This sucks and you know it!" Huffing, I turned away from the group. "I'm nobody's babysitter. Especially not some farm-boy moose hunter!" Logically, I knew the other shooter had to be good. Only the best shooters became snipers and only the best snipers would be chosen for a mission like this. I just didn't feel like being logical right at that moment. And then Cortez just had to speak up, one of his damn smirks on his face._

" _I hate to be the one to break the bad news," he told me, gleefully I might add, "but you weren't selected to be the primary shooter on this mission. So it seems they want your "farm-boy" to do it? I guess that makes you the backup. Sorry, O'Brien." Yeah, right, like he was actually sorry. I still reacted the way he wanted, though, damn him._

"I'm _the backup?!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. That only made his smirk grow as Cortez pointed his spoon at me, obviously not finished with his attack on my ego._

" _And the shooter...is a Spartan."_

_We all reacted to that, Dutch and Check leaning forward with exclamations of surprise while I just stood there like an idiot, my mouth hanging open. For a moment I was sure I had heard the man wrong but, no, I hadn't. I was a Spartan's backup. Of course, Cortez wasn't done yet. "And that means this mission just got escalated." I wanted to counter with some snappy comment but my mind was frozen by his previous words and I was further dumbfounded when the man turned back to his food and calmly continued to eat. Couldn't he see that my entire world and ego were self-imploding?!_

_We didn't stay in the chow hall much beyond that point. The other three had cleared their trays and I was too upset to eat. We made a quick stop at our quarters to armor up and get our gear, but then we were on our way to the briefing. The second we stepped through those doors, we could see it. The Spartan. It was standing right next to our commander, towering over him like an armored mountain. I wanted to go off on its ass right then, but one look from Cortez had me falling into formation with the others. Our commander observed us all for a second before nodding._

" _This is Spartan Cal-141, who will be the ranking officer on this mission," he introduced, gesturing slightly to the silent robot like we wouldn't know who he was talking about if he hadn't clarified. "I realize that is highly unusual, and you have strong feelings about Spartans. You will keep those feelings out of the mission and follow the plan." I wanted to sneer, I really did, but somehow I restrained myself and kept my face carefully blank. The commander gave us one more glare before turning to the screen behind him, ready to lay out the details of the mission. "Satellite recon shows radar and magnetic signatures on Heian in the Ark Star Cluster. These signatures indicate a complex of buildings. It's a logistical base. The Prophet you are targeting is in control of the entire sector. Our mission is simple. We want this Prophet dead. We take out the Prophet, we will take out the Covenant chain of command." The commander turned back to us, wanting us to focus on him once more as the screen defaulted to its normal image. "If we achieve the goal of this mission, we will be able to buy ourselves months of tactical advantage. And we will do it all with minimal risk to the UNSC." I was just starting to get into the groove of what he was saying when he scoffed. "Other than to this group, of course." I wanted to sneer back at him, wanted to ask why he had to build us up just to shoot us down again like he had, but my training held firm and I didn't react. At least, I don't think I did. I wasn't called on it and the commander continued, "Cortez! Fill them in on the details."_

_Nodding, Cortez moved forward to stand before the display screen, which flickered to life again. "Alright, you'll be flying into the atmosphere with a Leonid-class meteor shower. Meteor showers of this nature are a regular occurrence on this planet, so that means entry and landing should go unnoticed. Calculations show reaching the target will take a fourteen-hour fast march from your entry point. Once you reach the target, you will take out the Prophet as soon as he steps off that ship. Then you are to gather all data relating to the unidentified alien ruins." That final order finally got a reaction from the three of us as we hadn't heard anything about that in our pre-briefing meetings. Of course, as the most vocal of the group, I was the one to speak up._

" _What do you mean, they're not identified?" I asked. Hey, stop giving me that look! It didn't sound so stupid when the words were in my head. Anyway, I still got my answer._

" _The architecture is not Covenant design and it sure as hell wasn't built by humans," Cortez answered briskly. "They pre-date both sides. This site is of the utmost importance. We photograph everything." The commander checked his watch, wanting to keep us on schedule. We must have been cutting it close because he cut in._

" _That'll be all, Master Sergeant. You can rejoin your men. You will be dropping in precisely five minutes. With this mission, there is no room for delay or error. Good luck, and Godspeed." The squad saluted sharply, including the Spartan, before we all raced to our pods. We had no doubt that the commander would open the launch doors whether we were in our pods or not. He always was a stickler for timing and precision. And sure enough, exactly five minutes later the launch doors were open, and we flew into open space._

_The journey through the asteroid belt was difficult. It was very different from our normal jumps and much more treacherous. I lost count of how many times I got too close to an asteroid or how many times I had to frantically dodge a speeding lump of rock that was determined to end my mission right there. By comparison, our entry into the atmosphere was as smooth as butter. Of course, after all that, my landing had to suck, horribly. I glanced off the side of a rock formation and fell right into a swamp. The impact was so powerful it jarred all my systems, leaving me dead and dark in the water. I tried to blow my hatch but the thing was jammed, not responding to my control pad. That was when I noticed how hard it was getting to breathe. Some part of my brain recognized that my air tank must have been ruptured, but the majority of my mind began to panic. That panic only grew as I noticed water seeping in around my feet. You know, fighting Covenant and stuff, sometimes I would sit around and wonder how I was going to die. Somehow, drowning in a swamp while trapped in my pod hadn't been one of the ways I'd thought of._

_Just as I was giving in to despair, my pod shifted. Not much, just enough for me to notice. Then it jostled a little, making me stumble, even in the enclosed space. And then - BAM! - I go flying. I nearly died again on impact as my pod hit the ground and rolled. Did end up whacking my head pretty hard, though. A minute or two later, my hatch was torn off, allowing me to fall out, gasping for breath. Now, you know me well enough by now; I can't express gratitude to save me life. So, of course, I start yelling right away._

" _Are you guys nuts?! Why're you throwin' me around like that?" Of course, that's when I sense someone standing behind me so I turn around and who do I see? The Spartan. It didn't say anything, just looked down at me, before calmly walking away. Before I could puzzle through its behavior, Dutch came up and squatted beside me._

" _We lost Checkmen in the atmosphere," he told me, shocking me to the core. Check had been one of the best Helljumpers when it came to piloting these pods. I couldn't believe we'd lost him. "And we almost lost you, too." That jogged my memory, how seconds ago I'd been sure I was gonna die. Cortez later told me that the Spartan had saved me single-handedly, throwing my pod out of the swamp like it did. I should have been thankful, I knew it, but instead my anger towards the Spartan grew. Not only did it take my rightful place as the main gunner on this mission, it had the gall to save my life. Oh yeah, I was pissed._

_Dawn was just starting to touch the mountains as we all gathered to talk strategy. The Spartan was standing guard, gazing out into the open space near our hideout. I remember thinking it strange that the Spartan was our ranking officer, yet it didn't act like it would contribute to our planning. Maybe it trusted us. Or maybe it just didn't give a shit, confident in its ability to complete the mission even if we screwed up. I'm leaning towards the latter._

_Anyway, Cortez brought out the map, letting me and Dutch see the terrain for the first time. "Their logistics and refueling base is here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map. How he knew that was a mystery since it wasn't marked on the map itself. "We're here. The Prophet will be coming in at_   _exactly 0800. Everything depends on us getting a clear shot from this location and we've got to hit him as soon as he's exiting that ship." He traced a line from where the Prophet would be to our target location with his finger. "It's two miles from the target and should give us the elevation for the shot. It's pretty far, but it will give us enough cover to make our extraction."_

" _Assuming that the Spartan can make the shot, that is," I quipped, looking over at the robot in question. It didn't even twitch. I swear, it was ignoring me on purpose. Although, I probably deserved it._

" _And if we don't make it to the target in time?" Dutch asked. He was always the one to bring up the worst case scenarios. Luckily, Cortez was used to it and had an answer ready._

" _There won't be any second chances." The Spartan finally looked at us, still silent. I stared at it for a little bit longer before mentally shrugging my shoulders and turning away._

" _It's a long-ass march," I, almost, whined. I could hear the smirk in Dutch's voice as he rested his weapon on his shoulder._

" _Then we better get marching."_

_And march we did. We marched through hip-high grass in the forest clearings. Well, hip-high to us. To the Spartan, the grass was barely above its knees. Then we climbed over one of the stone mountains. We were struggling. The Spartan moved like it was using hardly any energy. And then we marched through more forests. I was getting really, really bored. Of course, just when I was about to start complaining, things changed._

_The Spartan had always been our point, through the whole march. It kept a steady pace, remaining a constant distance from us. So, when it suddenly gave us the signal to halt then rushed ahead, we were all caught slightly off-guard. Still, we crouched to the ground, letting the foliage conceal us as the Spartan moved ahead a short ways to one of the larger trees. It pulled out some sort of device, holding it to its mask as it surveyed something we couldn't see._

_I wasn't sure what the device was, but after all those hours of marching, I was bored enough that I didn't bother to hold my tongue. "Wanna take the lens cap off?" I drawled, thinking the device was a standard recording tool._

" _Knock it off, O'Brien," Cortez ordered, his voice sharp. I wasn't the only one frustrated with the situation, but Cortez knew better than to take out that frustration on the Spartan. He moved forward, wanting to know what the Spartan was seeing, and we followed him. The sight that awaited us had us all pulling up short._

_It was the alien structures the commander had told us about. At least, it was supposed to be. However, the place reminded me sharply of Oriental designs. The shapes of the buildings, the lanterns, the statues. They all resembled human designs that I knew pretty well. There was just enough variation, just enough changes, to prove that the buildings couldn't have been built by humans. Hell, their size alone proved that humans hadn't made the city. I was positive that even the Spartan would be dwarfed by the smallest of buildings._

_As the three of us gaped at the sight, the Spartan continued its recording. Every now and then I could hear a sound from the device it was using, reminding me of a camera. Then the Spartan apparently saw something that upset it as it pulled the device away from its mask and took off down the path again, leaving us to scramble after it. Eventually, it paused and we could see what had set it off. A group of Grunts were in the area, apparently overseeing some sort of mining operation. There were four of them, moving about the ruins. The Spartan signaled that we were to take them out, quietly if possible. Cortez acknowledged and we split up._

_I was sent after the farthest Grunt. It was patrolling a conveyer belt that dropped its contents into the river. As I was moving into firing position, I stepped on a branch. Quit giving me that look, I know it was a rookie mistake! I don't know why I hadn't been paying attention, it just happened! The point is, I stepped on the branch and the Grunt heard me. It stared at me, eyes wide in shock, as I lifted my weapon and fired. For a second, as I watched the Grunt fall down dead, I wondered why my_   _weapon had made such a loud noise. My ears were ringing from the roar. Then I turned around to see a Brute Chieftain behind me, his hammer stopped inches from my body. Stopped by the Spartan. It just stood there, holding on to that hammer and preventing it from touching me. I couldn't believe my eyes._

_Then the Brute roared again and swung the hammer to the side, throwing the Spartan away and sending me flying towards the river. I lost my weapon right away, unable to keep a hold on it. Really, at that moment I didn't care. I was tumbling down the decline, head over heels, before suddenly pitching off the edge. It was sheer dumb luck that I managed to grab a root or I would have plunged to my death. I did watch my rifle go over the edge, my sniper rifle barely hanging on to my arm as I hung there, right next to the waterfall. Just as I was trying to figure out how to pull myself up, the trees beside me exploded out and I saw the most amazing sight in the world._

_Yeah, it was the Spartan. Apparently, it had tried to kick the Brute in the chest. The Brute got the shaft of his hammer up in time to block the kick, but the force of the blow was still enough to send them both into the river. In a feat of acrobatics I haven't seen outside of a circus, the Spartan let the Brute take the full brunt of the landing, balancing on the hammer shaft until impact when it sprung away, rolling in the water to absorb its own impact._

_Of course, that's the point when I lost my grip on the root and fell the rest of the way to the water. The edge of the river as it turned into the waterfall was shallow enough that I actually stumbled back along it, unable to catch my balance as I was pushed to the end. At the very end, I started to tumble and used that momentum to grab a slight protrusion in the river bed. The force of the water ripped my sniper rifle away, but I managed to hold on to the rock._

_I'm not sure how long I hung on. It felt like hours but I doubt it was even a minute. At one point something very large hurtled past me and I remember hoping that it was the Brute. It would totally serve him right. But the thought disappeared quickly as I could feel myself slipping. I tried to force my other arm up to grab the edge, but the force of the water prevented it. I felt the moment I lost my grip on the stone but it wasn't even a full second later that something else grabbed my hand and pulled me up and out of the water. The shock of the sudden loss of water pressure threw me for a loop, so I wasn't entirely aware of what was happening around me for a few seconds. When I finally did focus, I realized that it was the Spartan that had saved me and that it was carrying me like I was a child or something. Yeah, you know what happens next, right? I blew up at it._

" _I'm not crippled, put me down!" I yelled, suddenly flailing around. The Spartan obeyed, but I swear it was laughing at me. Then it just...walked off. Like nothing had happened. Like it hadn't saved my life twice, three times if you count the fact that it stopped the Brute from crushing me with the hammer. I know I'm not very good at expressing my gratitude, but the Spartan kept acting like it didn't expect my thanks. The way it acted, one would think that it didn't believe it had done anything worth thanking it for. That attitude made me feel guilty, which then made me angry because I was feeling guilty about how I was treating a Spartan. It was so strange for me and I wasn't sure how to react, so I just reacted in anger. I wonder if it ever did bother the Spartan._

_Anyway, like I said, the Spartan put me down and walked off. Dutch and Cortez were there and watched it leave before Dutch trotted over to me, just as surprised by the Spartan as I was, but also irritated by my behavior. "You bitch any louder and this place will be crawling with Covenant," he rebuked, snapping me out of the gape fest I was directing towards the most annoying Spartan in the universe._

" _Shut your mouth!" I snarled. "He just got lucky." Of course, it wasn't until later that I realized that Dutch hadn't said anything about the Spartan. I was just so focused on the giant that it was always the first thing on my mind. You can see where this is going, can't you? Yeah, the realization just made me angrier. Honestly, it's a wonder I didn't try to shoot the Spartan myself._

_We wandered around the ruins for a while, allowing the Spartan to record anything it thought needed to be recorded. As I'd thought, the sheer size of these buildings and relics made the Spartan look like an insect. I didn't want to think about how small I looked when compared to the things. Cortez_   _was keeping pace with the Spartan, ready to help if he was ever needed, although he never was. I preferred to keep my distance, puzzling over my feelings for the Spartan. I was just talking myself into thanking the thing for saving my life when Dutch elbowed me roughly, making me stumble._

" _That's twice," he told me, smirking the whole time. "Twice he had to save your dumb ass already. You could at least say thank you." Never mind the fact that I'd been talking myself into doing just that, as soon as Dutch mentioned it, my ego reared its ugly head and I knew that I never would thank it. No, I'd make it my job for the rest of the mission to belittle the Spartan as much as I could. I hadn't forgotten that the Spartan was still the main gunner on this mission, so I knew I could continue to doubt its ability out loud. Even if it never reacted, I knew it could hear me. Childish thinking, I admit, but I didn't care just then._

_Once the Spartan was done at the ruins, we continued our march. We marched for the rest of the day and through the night. The trip should have taken us only fourteen hours but the fight with the Brute and the amount of ruins had slowed us down a lot. So it turned out that we were still climbing to our target location as the sky began to lighten with false-dawn light. Luckily, the path we were taking to the target was an actual stairway. Unluckily, each step was about four feet tall. We weren't able to walk up them, we were hauling ourselves up and over them. Even the Spartan was having issues at certain points, although most stairs were only up to its hips or just a little below them._

_At the top of the stairs was a large temple looking building that was actually carved into the mountainside. We weren't sure if it was occupied by Covenant forces, so we entered as stealthily as we could, the Spartan taking point again. The hall we ran through was littered with rubble and debris, making running an interesting experience, but eventually, we made it through. We exited into a large room, one side being open air. That was our target location; it gave us the perfect elevation and view to make the shot. Once we were sure the area was secure, the four of us gathered at the edge, taking in the view before turning back to the seriousness of the mission._

" _The shuttle will be touching down in two minutes," Cortez announced, making me heave a silent breath of relief. For a while, I'd been sure that we wouldn't make it in time._

_The Spartan started setting up its sniper rifle, preparing for the shot. Still feeling uncharitable, I couldn't stop myself from making a snide remark. "After all this, he better be everything they said he was," I grumbled, throwing the Spartan my best glare. It ignored me, but by that point, I was sort of expecting that response. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be backup and needed to know how the scene looked, so I pulled out my binocular set. It didn't let me focus as much as the rifle's scope would, but I could at least get a feel for the situation down there. I watched the shuttle come in, easing down to land on the pad. The Spartan was ready, I could tell, and I found myself hoping it would make the shot. You know the feeling, right? You don't like the other person but you realize how important that moment is and you don't want them to screw up? That's how it was just then._

_I was so focused on the Prophet's shuttle, I didn't pay any attention to what was happening around me. I should have heard the thing, I really should have. It wasn't making any effort to be quiet. But I didn't, and that moment will haunt me to my grave._

_I was only vaguely aware of the Spartan suddenly spinning towards me. I felt the roar, though I can't remember hearing it. Then the Spartan was there again, shoving me out of the way. The hammer passed right before my face, cutting the air, before striking the Spartan across the head and shoulder. The impact was so great that the Spartan actually bounced off the hard floor before falling back against the remains of the stone wall, its armor sparking._

_You know, the human mind is a strange thing. Sometimes a surprise like the Brute would be enough to throw people into shock, and they wouldn't be able to react. Other times, the event sharpens the human senses and we react faster than we normally would. The latter occurred this time. As the Brute took a step towards the Spartan Cortez yelled, "Take him out!" and we all tackled the thing. We managed to wrestle him to the ground where Dutch crawled on top of him, pointed his rifle at the thing's ruined eye, and emptied the clip. He was deader than dead. Then, almost as an afterthought, we_   _remembered the Spartan. Cortez raced over, trying to figure out where the Spartan was injured. Its helmet was still sparking, so he ripped it off and flung it away...and froze._

_It was a girl. Cal-141 was a female Spartan. Her hair was long and pale, although it was already turning pink from the blood that was coming from her head wound. And her eyes, they were pale too. I'd never seen eyes like that. It was so shocking, so unexpected, I didn't know what to do. None of us did. We just stood there, frozen like statues. Then she swung her head up, her eyes moving like she was trying to find something. Finally, they settled on me._

" _Take the shot," she said, her voice nearly drowning in pain. I think she knew I was too shocked, though, because right on the heels of that she yelled, "O'Brien, now! You're the only one who can do it." Those words snapped me out of my daze and reminded me that we still had a mission._

_I rushed back to the rifle, terrified that I was already too late. But when I looked through the scope, the Prophet was still in the open. All I had to do was take my sights and squeeze the trigger. And that was it. It was over._

_We should have left at that point. Our extraction point was right nearby and the Pelican would be coming for us any second. We knew that but, I think we also knew that Cal wasn't gonna make it. I'm not sure how we knew since none of us would admit it, but we did. We pulled her into the shadow of one of the fallen stones to provide her with some shelter. Dutch was a little behind her, letting her rest her head on his leg. Cortez was kneeling on her left side, trying to keep her talking. Me? I just stood there, apart from them, watching._

_After a couple minutes, Cal pulled a chip out of her armor and handed it to Cortez. "It's the data. On the ruins," she explained, her hand shaking as she tried to keep it aloft. She grabbed on to Cortez's hand and lifted it up too, pressing the chip into his hand and covering it with hers. "Tell them...to get it to Halsey. She'll know."_

" _No, you give it to her," Cortez argued, unwilling to give up just yet._

_Cal coughed a little, struggling to get air into her lungs, before looking up at him. "We both know that's-" She paused for a second and then, suddenly, she smiled. Just a little bit. I'm not sure the others noticed but, in that moment, her gaze shifted to me. She looked me in the eyes and I knew she was trying to tell me that it would all be alright. "-that's not gonna be possible."_

_Then she was dead. I'm not sure why we were all surprised when she died. We knew her injuries were too severe. We had known she was dying, that's why we'd tried to make her comfortable. But Spartans have this reputation about them, you know? That whole saying about how Spartans never die. They're just listed as MIA. So I guess we never thought we would actually see one die right before our eyes. We never thought that they are just as human as we are. Now, it's something I'll never forget._

_A few hours later, we were back on_  Destroyer DD-993 _. It was dinner time by the time we were released from our mission debriefing. None of us were really hungry, but we went to the chow hall anyway and got some food. Our usual spot was open, so we all sat down. About ten minutes later we were still just sitting there, our food untouched. It was a little strange, being without Check, but it was the presence of Cal that we were all missing the most. Without her, we were all pretty listless. Dutch and I were staring at the window, not really thinking of anything, while Cortez just slumped in his seat, his face towards the ceiling. I swear, there must have been a little rain cloud hanging over our table, we were all so depressed._

_Apparently, some people are too dumb to realize when they're not wanted, though. We're sitting there, stewing in our depression, when this marine comes up to us, chattering on, and sits at our table. Normally, we would have kicked him out right away, but we were all pretty slow in the reaction department just then so we let him sit, talk, and hand out the apples he'd brought._

" _Heard about what you guys did down there," he said, a huge grin on his face. "You took out a Prophet and stopped the Covenant supply chain dead for the entire Arc sector! They say a Spartan died there. Went down faster than a new boot on his first day of basic. I thought those guys were supposed to be unbeatable. I guess he didn't have what it takes to hang with the Helljumpers, huh?" Any normal_   _person would have known to leave at that moment. Both Cortez's and Dutch's faces had morphed into glares and snarls. Dutch even growled at the marine to shut up. He didn't hear them, too busy enjoying his apple and thinking that the words he'd said would flatter us. So he also didn't see me pick up the apple he had put beside my tray and hurl it at his face, catching him in the temple. He fell out of the seat and to his knees, the apple falling down to hit him in the head. "What's your problem?" he had the gall to ask, turning back towards us. "What the hell's the matter with you guys?! What'd I say?"_

_I don't know if the others answered him. I just turned back towards the window and let my mind drift again. She was there, you know. It was like, if I could just focus enough, I could see her again, standing right in front of me. I thought of how she'd saved me, time and time again. How she'd taken the attack meant for me. How, even as she died, she was still trying to make sure I was alright._

_But, most of all, I thought about how I never did thank her._

* * *

 

Time: 1342\

September 04, 2531\

Aboard UNSC _Excalibur_

"And that's it," O'Brien finished, his eyes dull as he looked back towards the glass wall. "The mission occurred about a week ago. The guys and I have seen more ONI officers in the last week than I ever thought existed. And it's weird, you know, but it's like they're trying to cover the whole thing up. We're all under strict orders not to talk about Cal or the mission to anybody." He met Kaine's eyes again, a bitter smile on his face. "Something else you can write me up for, I guess."

"Over my dead body," Kaine replied, fighting down her own emotions. "Humans can't heal from situations like this if they aren't allowed to talk about it." Mendez's face floated before her gaze, scowling as he ranted at them again and again until his words were seared into their minds. "Mental wounds are just like physical wounds, O'Brien. You have to bleed them out or they'll get infected. Sadly, the only way to bleed out mental wounds is to talk about them." That got a tired smile out of the man before her. He could hear the voice of experience coming from her mouth.

The two sat in silence a while longer, each lost in their own thoughts. Glancing at her watch, Kaine realized that formation was long over. Actually, it was nearing lunch time. No doubt Eric and the Master Sergeant, Cortez, were looking for the two of them. "We should probably go join the ship population, O'Brien, before they send search parties after us." He didn't reply, just nodding despondently and followed her as she crawled through the ship's innards again, aiming for the open ventilation shaft that had led to their location.

As feared, Eric and Cortez had organized several search parties that had been scouring the ship for the two Helljumpers. They were both lectured by their respective commanders for missing formation and causing others to worry. However, it was soon obvious that neither were mentally present enough to actually hear what was said. Eric finally dismissed them both and watched as they left his office, O'Brien being dragged to the chow hall while Kaine made straight for the officer quarters. Even Eric wasn't aware of the specifics of the mission O'Brien had been on, but he did know that a Spartan had been sent on the mission and had not returned. He could only guess how Kaine felt, being told about that.

For her part, Kaine wasn't entirely sure where she was going anymore. She hadn't been in her room for more than a couple minutes before deciding that it was too confining. Instead, she'd started wandering the halls, unaware of just how lost she looked. Despite the usual hazing treatment, any ODST that saw her decided it would be better to leave her alone. Deep in the shock of grief, the redhead wasn't holding herself back as much as she usually did. The men weren't sure what was different, but they could all see that she had a dangerous edge to her that hadn't been seen before.

Eventually, the redhead found herself in the hangar bay, helping some Helljumpers unload the supply ship that had come in. She was aware of Eric's presence in the back of the bay, but he left her alone, so she tried to ignore him. The only way to push the thoughts of Cal from her mind was to fill it with steady repetition. Lift the box, turn, give it to the next soldier in line, turn back, repeat. Again and again, completely tuning out the world around her. It was great, in theory. In practice, it only made the pain and anger swell in her chest.

“Lieutenant Faldon!” a voice called out, breaking Kaine from her silent mantra. Trying to keep control over her fraying temper, she turned to face whoever had called. It was Captain Rogers, one of the officers of the 101st ODSTs. He was what most females would define as the perfect male specimen. Beach blonde hair, bright blue eyes, chiseled abs, tall, confident, pearly white teeth, the whole package deal. It was too bad that looks were all he had going for him. The two officers had met before but were hardly in each other's good graces. In fact, it would be more accurate to describe their relationship as dangerously volatile. The smirk on his face informed her that this would be one of the more negative conversations they would ever have. After all, he apparently was dumb enough to not realize how on edge she was. “Heard you walked out on morning formation today,” he jeered. “You must think you're better than the rest of us, acting like the rules don't apply to you.”

“They do,” she replied, struggling to sound relaxed. If he couldn't get a rise out of her, he'd leave faster. “The rules apply to everyone. This morning I made the decision that the rule of caring for the soldiers under my command was more important than the rule of standing in formation. A member of my platoon was missing and no one knew where he was, so I went out to look for him.” Her eyes narrowed as her frustration clawed its way to the surface. “I can see how you are unfamiliar with my reasoning, though. After all, it's common knowledge that you care more about yourself than anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves assigned under you.”

The quiet hiss around her made the redhead aware that she had gone farther than she should have. She could hear Eric's footsteps as he quickly made his way over, no doubt to intervene, but it was muffled by the roaring in her ears. It was never a good idea to push her, and Rogers had ignored every warning she'd ever given him. If it was a fight he wanted, she wasn't going to deny him now.

“Ah yes, Corporal O'Brien,” Rogers sneered. “I've heard of him. It's no wonder he was hiding away, ashamed to show his face.”

“That wasn't what he was doing,” Kaine tried to interrupt, spotting O'Brien out of the corner of her eyes. She wasn't going to allow this pathetic excuse for an officer malign any of her soldiers.

“Wasn't it?” the blonde challenged. “If not, it should have been. After all, how many people can claim to lose a Spartan?” Eric was running now, she could hear it, but it was impossible to tell where he was. Her blood had been replaced by ice, and for a moment the redhead wondered if she could move at all without the hole in her chest consuming her. “Although, I suppose it's not his fault. The Spartan just couldn't cut it.” Somewhere in the distance, Eric was yelling at them. If only she could figure out what he was saying. “Guess it's true. Spartans are nothing more than freaks.”

“ _ENOUGH_!” Kaine roared, slamming her fist into the Pelican that she was standing beside. She wasn't aware of everyone quickly moving away from her, focused completely on the suddenly wide and terrified blue eyes before her. “You have no right to talk about her like that! You know _nothing_  about the Spartans!” Before she could think the situation through, her hand lashed out and grabbed Rogers by the collar, yanking him to within inches of her face. “If I _ever_  hear you talking about the Spartans or my soldiers again, I will gladly remove your head from your body. Am I understood?” The blonde was frantically nodding, but it wasn't enough. “AM I UNDERSTOOD?!” she yelled in his face.

“Yes sir!” he tried to say back, but he was shaking too much to give his voice any power. Disgusted, the redhead tossed him away, watching him land and skid several yards before managing to scramble to his feet and run. With the rage receding, she suddenly realized that the entire bay was silent. Confused, she turned around to find everyone, even Eric and O'Brien, staring at her in varying degrees of fear. Before she could ask what was wrong, she noticed the ship beside her.

And the massive dent where she had struck it.

Eric had always known that Kaine was a Spartan, and he knew that Spartans were dangerous. There weren't many reports from Spartan missions the last few years, but from what little he knew, each one was a one-man army. Regardless, it was one thing to know that his adopted daughter had the power and ability to kill him. It was completely different to realize that she had the ability to destroy entire vehicles in moments of rage. He supposed they were lucky that it had been metal that she had hit, and not flesh.

By the time he reached her, he could see that Kaine had completely shut down. It wasn't a state he saw very often. She'd explained it to him, of course. The Spartans had always been designed to be slightly unbalanced. As a safety measure for those around them, in moments of heightened emotions, every Spartan could basically turn themselves off, becoming little more than physical AIs. From what she'd said, they only actually shut down when they were afraid of themselves. The last time she'd been this way was right after Corbulo when she still suffered nightmares. It was a sight he'd hoped to never see again.

“It's not your fault,” he told her quietly as voices started buzzing around the hangar again. He'd have to do some fast damage control to keep her secret safe. Luckily, he could already hear that most of the nearby soldiers thought her advanced strength had come from the upgraded armor that she was wearing instead of her standard uniform. “He provoked you.”

“And I reacted,” she said, voice flat, no emotion tainting it at all. The sound made the older man shudder. “I could have killed him. I wanted to. I want to. But I know that's wrong.”

“Let me help you,” Eric nearly begged, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She flicked it away at the last second.

“I can handle it,” she told him blandly. “This is my problem, not yours.” Then, without a word, she quietly left the bay, ignoring everyone around her. She was only vaguely aware of the soldiers that scrambled out of her way in the halls until she finally reached the relative safety of her room. Ignoring the warning buzz from Vincent about how emotional suppression was not healthy and would only bring about more problems, she held tight to her control until she was safely locked inside. Then, ever so slowly, she turned herself back on, wincing as the emotions raced through her once more.

Finally allowing herself to cry, Kaine leaned against the door and slid to the floor as she started sobbing. When she closed her eyes she could see Cal, clear as day. She could see that super pale hair and remembered how silky it felt, even after camping out in the woods for weeks with no showers. Those pale gold eyes that caught every detail about what was happening around them, no matter how small. Cal had always been the Spartan the group turned to when they needed to track something. It didn't surprise Kaine at all that Cal had sacrificed herself to save O'Brien. She'd always been that way, loving and caring for others, even as they cursed and spit at her. It wasn't uncommon for her to find joy and humor in hopeless situations. O'Brien was right, she'd probably been laughing every time he tried to insult her.

And now she was dead. How many other Spartans had died since Kaine had left the program? How many of her brothers and sisters were still alive, somewhere out in space? How many had she lost forever? "O'Brien never got to say thank you," she told the empty room, rubbing the tears away even as they were replaced by fresh ones. "I never got to say I'm sorry."

Sitting in the silence of the room, Kaine could almost imagine that Cal was there with her. When she closed her eyes, she could pretend that her friend was kneeling right before her, giving her that little smile that she always had. In that moment, she could forget that Cal was dead.

"I forgive you," Cal would say, giving Kaine a look that rebuked her for thinking that the pale girl had ever held a grudge. "And tell O'Brien that I said he's welcome." Her eyes would take on that tender cast that Cal had always reserved for the other Spartans. "Don't be sad that I am dead. Be happy that we knew each other when I was alive. Remember, so long as there are people who remember me, I won't truly be gone." Her hand would reach out to brush away Kaine's tears-

Kaine's eyes flew open, feeling something brush her cheek. The room was just as empty as it had been. Everything was still and silent, undisturbed. But her cheek still tingled, remembering the gentle touch that had brushed the tears away for a moment. "Cal," she whispered, half expecting a response. None came, but when she went to stand up something fell from her lap. Startled, she picked up the two items and realized they were Cal's dog tags.

Halsey and the other scientists had refused to even consider letting the children learn about religion, but that didn't stop them from asking. Mendez had always told the Spartans that sometimes, things happened that couldn't be explained. He'd told them stories of disasters that had no meaning and miracles that defied all explanations. Though he was always quick to say that he didn't believe in a god or anything like that, he did admit that it was possible. "Sometimes," he would tell them, "something will happen and the only real explanation is that somehow, somewhere, there's something or someone far more powerful than us that is acting in our lives. You can call it a god if you want. You can call it a higher being. I'm not sure what it is, but I do know this. It's real and it's out there.

Clutching the dog tags tightly in her fist, Kaine spun on her heels and left her quarters. She'd give one of the tags to O'Brien and pass on Cal's message. She'd also tell O'Brien the truth about her and her past. Eric had always said that she needed someone else that she could trust with the truth. He wouldn't always be there for her, and she'd need someone that could cover the slips she still made. With the dislike Helljumpers had for Spartans, O'Brien was likely the only one she could trust. Besides, Cal trusted him, didn't she? She trusted him enough to die for him.

Maybe that something or someone, hidden in that somewhere location, had somehow let Cal talk to her one last time. It shouldn't have been possible, and no doubt science would insist that it hadn't occurred. But at the end of the day, did it really matter? Now her final memory of Cal would be of friendship and forgiveness. What else could possibly matter? Besides, she rather liked the idea that something had allowed Cal to come back to speak to her.

That meant that when Kaine died, she'd be able to see Cal again.

 


	4. Ghostly Memories

 

**Ghostly Memory**

Time: 1429\

June 21, 2544\

Aboard the UNSC _Excalibur_

The pounding of a fist on the door was what woke Kaine from her hard-earned sleep. Growling, she pushed herself out of the bed, hissing as her leg complained at the rough treatment. The medics had warned her that she should not be putting weight on it just yet, but since when had she ever listened to a medic? After the final augmentations, she'd lost all respect for anyone in the medical field.

The person was still knocking, dragging Kaine from her thoughts. "If this is for anything less than Covenant invading the ship, I'm assigning you to the most dangerous post I can think of," she yelled at whoever had disturbed her, finally keying the doors to slide open. The sight of O'Brien standing on the other side caught her off guard. "O'Brien? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in bed yourself by now."

"We're needed in the hangar bay," he told her tiredly, smiling an apology. "Covenant attacked some research facility nearby and the survivors are being diverted to us. 105th are on duty at the moment, so we're all being mobilized to help with the sudden influx of marines." Groaning, Kaine allowed herself to lean against the wall. She and the rest of Seventh Platoon had just gotten back from a two-week engagement with Covenant forces on Draco V. They'd been looking forward to a time of rest back on the ship. Then again, no one had been expecting this change of events.

"Understood," she sighed, raking a hand through her hair, wincing as it was caught in a snarl. "How soon will the transports be coming in?"

"They're coming in now," was the answer, followed by another groan from the girl. "The pilots claim that their radio power is low, so they couldn't send word until they were nearly on us. Commander Faldon is scrambling, trying to find enough room for all of them, especially as most are injured and our medical facilities are not large enough to handle them all." Kaine waved him off, knowing full well how large the ship's medical section was. It wasn't even large enough to hold all of Seventh Platoon.

"We better get moving then," she said, forcing herself to stand free of the wall. It was times like this that she was glad for her Spartan training. Most other Helljumpers wouldn't have been able to pull themselves together enough to go another mile like this. In fact, she was convinced that O'Brien was the only ODST that could keep up with her, more because of his damn stubbornness than any other reason. She knew better than to question it, after five years of him being her shadow. If she'd known he would attach himself to her as he had she would never have told him the truth about her history. However, she had a suspicion that at least some of his loyalty to her came from the fact that he was still trying to pay Cal back for saving his life so many times.

Trotting through the halls, the duo made their way towards the hangar bays. Marines were rushing all around them, doing a remarkable impersonation of an overturned anthill. Interspersed in the chaos was the occasional Helljumper, each one calmly going about their duties. The ODSTs made sure to salute Kaine as she walked by, but she quickly waved them back to their tasks. She was well known for her reluctance to pull Helljumpers away from tasks they had been assigned to.

"Vincent," she said under her breath, dodging another panicking Private. She knew the AI could understand her thoughts and didn't her need to vocalize the words, but with all the ideas whirling around her mind, she needed the spoken words to ground herself. "What can you tell me about the situation?" There was a short pause before the dry voice impressed itself upon her mind.

" _The planet Algolis was attacked by Covenant forces,_ " he informed her, his voice quiet in contemplation. " _The UNSC Weapons Research Facility, T12A, was the focus of their attack. No doubt, they wanted data from the facility's main computer bank. T12A developed almost all of our most current weapons and were the leading group on studying and replicating Covenant technology. Cole protocol was put into action, wiping the computer banks of all data while marines physically destroyed all prototypes. Attempts were made to evacuate personnel with varying degrees of success. However, near the end of the battle, there were a peak number of shuttles that actually managed to escape the combat zone and make it to safety. After the last of the shuttles were in the clear, a large explosion occurred, wiping the facility off the map. The ship that the shuttles evacuated to fell under Covenant attack itself. It managed to escape but was badly damaged. They are now sending all survivors from the planet to us._ "

Narrowing her eyes, Kaine mentally nodded towards Vincent. She could see why he sounded so contemplative. Some of the events he reported were a little too perfect. Most people would call it luck or coincidence, but Kaine didn't believe in either. No Spartan did. There was always a reason for anything that happened. Sometimes that reason would never be known, but it was still there.

Entering the hangar, Kaine was instantly assaulted by yelling and the overwhelming scent of blood. She still wasn't sure if the Spartans had undergone any augmentations that enhanced their senses or if they'd just been trained that way, but the sudden onslaught of noise and scent almost drove her to her knees. It was training and stubbornness alone that kept her on her feet. Well, that and O'Brien catching her when her knees trembled.

"I'd say they've landed," she noted dryly, trying to hide the sudden tremors that had overcome her body. "Come on; let's see where we're needed." It didn't take them long to find another ODST officer. O'Brien was sent to help the marines that were trying and failing to keep track of all the wounded survivors that were flooding the ship. Kaine, however, was sent to aid the medical teams, as she had experience treating combat injuries. Just another skill that Spartan training had gifted her with. Normally Kaine would have argued, her dislike for all things medical well known amongst the Helljumpers, but in the face of this seeming disaster she held her tongue and accepted the task she was given. That didn't stop her from taking bitter amusement in the looks of shock she received from O'Brien and the officer when she accepted her orders. There were so few moments that she could actually find humor in her life.

Such thoughts were thrown away as her gaze fell upon the first of many injured soldiers. She fell to her assignment with a single-mindedness that had been a blessing and a curse during her years as a Spartan. Her whole world consisted of the injured person that she was treating. Once the person was stable, she would move on to the next one. Time lost all meaning as she went from man to man; doing what she could for each.

"Thanks, sir, it feels better now," her current patient said, making her smile. He'd been easy to help, only having a broken leg that needed to be set. She wouldn't have been helping him at all, except that she'd been at her assignment for hours and the serious patients had already been treated.

"Happy to help, soldier," she told him, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm not sure how we're doing on space at the moment, but once there's enough room you'll be moved somewhere so that you can rest in peace."

"I'm looking forward to it," he joked, trying to smile through the pain. The ship was running low on painkiller medications, so what little they had was being reserved for serious cases. No doubt Commander Faldon was scrambling to get them more medical supplies. Kaine didn't want to be near him if he was denied any. "Sir?" She focused on the soldier again, startled. "I have a message from our commanding officer. He meant to send it to Reach, but the Covenant had jammers up and then our radio systems crapped out. The message was recorded and given to me so that I could pass it on." He pulled a chip out of his pocket and handed it to Kaine, trying to keep his blood off it. "Could you make sure the message is transmitted to Reach?"

"I'll fly it there myself if that's what it takes," she assured him, slipping the chip into the safety of her belt. "Mission completed, solider. Now here's your next one. Rest, so that your body can heal." The marine chuckled and nodded, settling onto his stretcher.

Heaving herself to her feet, Kaine glanced around the hangar. To her surprise, it was mostly empty. Most of the new marines were gone, spread out through the ship in whatever space could be found. No doubt, the medical ward was packed with the serious cases, the medics finding themselves horribly outnumbered by patients. She should probably head that way to lend a hand. However, first, she angled herself towards the cluster of marines that were still trying to make sure all their new additions were accounted for. Kaine nearly laughed when she saw O'Brien's hassled appearance. It was amazing the man hadn't started climbing the walls by now.

"You seem to be having fun," she teased, catching his attention. The glare he threw her made her laugh. O'Brien had never been good at handling clerical jobs. "I'm gonna help out in the medical ward after I drop off a message to be sent to Reach. If you see Commander Faldon before I do, tell him that he owes us some R and R for this." That drew a haggard smile from the man as he nodded before another marine started asking him some question in a very shrill voice. The look of pure torture on his face made Kaine laugh as she trotted away.

She was only halfway to the communication center when she felt a hum in her mind. " _Interesting._ " Glancing around to make sure she was alone, she sent a querying thought towards her AI. " _The message,_ " he elaborated. " _It is a little surprising. Here, I'll play it for you._ " Kaine settled into a small alcove and closed her eyes, focusing on the electrical pulses that her mind translated into words.

" _Transmission from orbit around Algolis. Cole Protocol enforced. All weapons, prototypes, and accompanying navigational databases eliminated. The soldier I previously recommended for military court-martial is-I rescind and redact that portion of my earlier report. That soldier is officially missing in action, lost during heavy combat on Algolis. He demonstrated honorable conduct, not only as a marine, but also as a human being. We're heading for rendezvous with the_ UNSC Heart of Midlothian _. Over and out."_

" _Curious, isn't it?_ " Vincent continued as Kaine resumed her trek to the communication section. " _What could have happened that a commanding officer would rescind his earlier report for that soldier?_ "

"I'm more curious about how you managed to download the chip's data considering your current location," she grumbled, hoping no one was around to hear her. She'd been caught speaking to Vincent enough that she had become slightly paranoid about it.

" _I manipulate your body's electromagnetic field, of course,_ " he replied, rebuking her with his tone. " _I am, after all, right behind your collarbone. How am I supposed to know everything that's happening around you if I don't use your body's electromagnetic field? I've adapted enough that I can use that field to transfer into anything you touch._ " Kaine clenched her fist, suddenly thinking of all the different computers she handled. " _Which reminds me, you should suggest to ONI that they tighten their security. It's pathetically easy to hack into their systems anymore._ "

"I'd rather avoid ONI at all costs," Kaine hissed, turning down the final hall to her destination. "After all, as far as they're concerned, we're both dead. I'd like to stay that way." Vincent fell silent with a grumble, leaving Kaine to her thoughts.

Unfortunately, Vincent was right. The marine commander's report was very curious. It would take a serious infraction for a soldier to be recommended for a military court-martial. What could have possibly happened to make the commander not only withdraw his recommendation but also to then go on to praise the soldier in question?

Entering the communication room, Kaine was taken back by how busy it was. People were rushing around everywhere, holding what seemed to be hundreds of conversations. There also seemed to be twice the amount of humans as there should be.

"Colonel Faldon!" called one of the marines that Kaine actually recognized. He quickly trotted over to her, dodging through the crowd with a practiced ease. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"I was told the message on this chip needed to be sent to Reach," she said, pulling the chip out of her belt. "One of the marines brought it in." Another marine jostled past her, knocking into her shoulder. The marine she was speaking to instantly opened his mouth to yell, but she waved him quiet. "Relax, Staff Sergeant. I'm not in uniform right now and I didn't recognize him, so I'm guessing he's new. Actually," she looked around the room meaningfully, "I'm assuming a lot of these people are new."

"Sort of, sir," the marine answered, still looking upset about how Kaine had been jostled aside. "Commander Faldon is having a difficult time finding space for all the incoming marines, so he's ordered that all of the incoming marines that are uninjured shall report to areas on the ship that they would work at if this had been a simple crew transfer. Most of these marines are survivors that would work in the research facility's communication control. Apparently, their communication station is about five times as large as ours."

"Of course it is," Kaine sighed, easing the weight off her injured leg. "They had a whole planet; they could build their buildings as large as they wanted. We're confined to the room available to us on an admittedly small ship." She watched the new marines for a moment, her eyes sharp and calculating while the Staff Sergeant squirmed a little. The Helljumpers had become accustomed to the intensity that she always gave off, but most other humans didn't have to spend enough time around her to become comfortable with her quirks. "Staff Sergeant, what happened down there? I've only been able to get bits and pieces." She made sure not to mention the report on the chip; the report that she had no right knowing what it said.

"I haven't heard everything either," the marine replied. "Probably no more than you have, at least. Still, Ghost was quite the hero, wasn't he?"

Kaine's gaze flicked back to the marine, her eyes narrowed dangerously. Ghost? What did he have to do with any of this? Before she could ask, there was a call from somewhere in the mass of humanity and the marine had to leave. Waving him off distractedly, Kaine set her path towards the medical ward of the ship.

Ghost, huh? She remembered hearing about him. Eric had spoken of him a few years ago. Ghost was one of the best marines in the UNSC; some would call him a prodigy. He'd even been considered for the Helljumpers. However, Ghost was not only a very independent person, he was also very cold. There were several reasons why he received the call-name Ghost. Then, three years ago, the situation got worse. He'd had been on a mission, leading a platoon of marines on some unknown planet. They'd run into some ambush and Ghost had been the only survivor. Kaine had seen him once after that. He'd always looked reserved, holding himself apart from others, but the look had changed. It was as if he was completely cut off from the human race. Personally, Kaine compared him to her Spartan friends that had become Grey Team. Fiercely independent; horrible at following orders; doing things his own way, consequences be damned. Acceptable traits for Spartans. Not so acceptable for anyone else.

She hadn't heard much about Ghost since then. As far as she'd known, he'd simply gone back into marine service, though she'd heard that he had gained the reputation of being a cold, unfeeling person. A real ghost. "Vincent, was Ghost up for any disciplinary actions?" she asked, increasing her speed only to slow back down with a hiss. Right, injured leg. Had to remember that.

" _Yes,_ " came the answer after a moment to search through his data. " _The marine that was operating under the call-name of Ghost was recommended for military court-martial. Seems your guess is correct; Ghost is the marine the commander was talking about._ " Nodding her head distractedly, Kaine growled under her breath. Eric had always said that her curiosity was like an insatiable beast that should never be woken. Come to think of it, John had often said the same thing. A sigh filtered through her mind. " _You're going to investigate this, aren't you?_ "

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't," she answered grimly, eyes focused ahead. She ignored his answering grumble as she stepped through the doorway into the medical ward. It was crazier and more cramped than the communication section had been. There were marines shoved into every conceivable space, most untreated with any type of drug or medication so they were moaning or crying. Down the halls that led to private rooms, Kaine could see even more bodies, some lying far too still for her liking. Feeling slightly detached, she watched a medic pull a sheet over one of the marines she had treated in the hangar. All those people that spoke about war and made it sound so glorious and wonderful, why didn't they speak about this side of war? Probably because, if they did, people might actually stop fighting.

"Colonel Faldon, I thought I told you to stay off your feet," a doctor called, glaring at the Helljumper. "What do you think you're doing, walking around with your leg like that?!"

"I think I'm doing my job since the 105th is on duty for the next couple days and I'm their commanding officer," she retorted, biting back the words she wanted to say. This would be a very bad time to reveal her ability to heal quickly and be less affected by the wounds than another Helljumper would be. People were starting to figure out that those were Spartan traits. "I treated some of these men in the hangar and knew you'd be overrun, so I came to offer my help." Blatantly looking around and taking in the frazzled state of all the medics, she drawled, "Of course, if you don't want to accept my offer, I can find something else to do. I'm sure there is another section of the ship that would welcome my aid." The doctor scowled darkly, tempting a bitter smile to bloom upon Kaine's face. There were always ways to manipulate people.

"Choose a patient then," the doctor finally barked, clearly disapproving her actions. "If you get in over your head, yell." It went unsaid that it was doubtful anyone would be able to respond to her yells. Instead, Kaine just nodded before choosing a marine that was at the far side of the room, where it seemed like he had been abandoned, and walking over.

"So what's wrong with you?" she asked the marine as she finally stepped into his line of sight. O'Brien was always chiding her for her lack of bedside manner. At least, he did until she bluntly told him that bedside manners were a useless skill to Spartans. The only wounded person a Spartan was ever supposed to treat was another Spartan, and they all understood that in a medical situation there was no time to waste. The one playing medic needed to know what they were treating right away. Bedside manner was just a waste of time. After that conversation, O'Brien never brought the subject up again.

"I'm-not sure," the marine answered, taking short gasps instead of breathing deeply. "My chest-hurts-and I-can't breathe." Narrowing her eyes, Kaine quickly looked around for any file that could tell her what injury he was suffering. There was nothing. Grumbling, Kaine gently palpated the man's chest, noting whenever he winced. At first, she couldn't find anything wrong, though. There were no broken bones to be found and no open wounds.

" _He popped the cartilage around his ribs,_ " Vincent reported. " _Not a very serious injury but it will keep him down for a while._ " Hissing mentally, Kaine flicked the AI away. His know-it-all attitude was getting on her nerves.

"Is there a specific area that hurts more?" she asked, grinding her teeth in frustration. After all, she couldn't just tell the guy what was wrong with him without having first located the source of the injury. She'd revealed knowledge she shouldn't have too many times already.

"Left-side," he gasped, trying to lay still. "Lower section." Nodding, Kaine let her fingers drift there and pressed. Yeah, she could feel it now. Mostly because she knew what to feel for.

"Feels like you popped the cartilage," she stated, ignoring Vincent's irritated grumbles. "It's not serious, but we need to refuse it. I'll just get the fuser-" She paused to look around, again noticing how busy everything was and sighed. "On second thought, I doubt we have one. Right then, looks like old-fashioned binding is what we're gonna do." Luckily, the bandages were right nearby, allowing Kaine to grab a couple quickly and return. "Can you sit up?"

"I think so," the marine gasped before trying to lever himself up. In the end, he needed some help, but he was soon sitting upright without support. Carefully, Kaine started winding the bandage around him. "Sir?" he suddenly asked, making her pause. "Do you know-what happened-to my-commander?"

"Who was it?" she asked, resuming her wrapping. It was probably pointless to ask, as she hadn't bothered to learn the names of any incoming marine so far, but there was such a thing as being polite. Although, she admitted that she normally ignored the impulse.

"Ghost." She stopped again, looking at the man in shock. He must have misunderstood her look as he hastened to add, "That's not his-real name-of course. I'm-actually not sure-what his-name is. But he's about-my height with-black hair and-"

"He's dead," she cut in bluntly, meeting the marine's eyes. "From what I heard, he never made it off the planet." Icy silence fell upon the pair, the marine staring as though he would refuse to believe her. Then the grief settled in and he nodded.

"I-thought so," he admitted, letting his gaze lower. "I just-didn't want to-believe it." Slowly, his hand curled into a fist. Kaine pretended not to notice when the tears slid down his face. "I never-got to apologize."

"I'm sure he knows," she said, voice oddly gentle, startling the marine. "I've had people die on me before I had time to tell them something important. That I was sorry, that I loved them, that I forgave them, stuff like that. Over the years, I've realized that they know. I'm not sure how, but they do." Finished with the bandages, she clapped him on the shoulder. "Ghost knows you're sorry. I'm sure he's forgiven you." He nodded but she wasn't sure he believed her. Understandable, of course, but she was a little disappointed.

A yell from across the room pulled Kaine away, but her mind continued to puzzle through the situation. Whatever had happened on Algolis, Ghost had done something that not only resulted in his commander having a change of heart in regards to court-martial but also had at least one of his men wanting to apologize to him. Inwardly, she seethed. It was impossible to build any sort of picture when she was missing so many large chunks of information.

Hours later, Kaine was finally able to take her first break. Actually, it was more like she was forced to take her first break. All the seriously injured marines had been treated and the medical staff was able to handle the remaining men on their own. The doctor that had treated Kaine's leg ordered her back to her quarters but she waved him off, instead heading towards the bridge. In a situation like this, she knew Eric would still be there, getting more supplies in-between struggling to find room for the new men. He wouldn't be any happier to see her up and around than the doctor, but he'd also understand that it was her duty at the moment.

The bridge was almost as busy as the communication sector, though not as cramped. There were a few new faces, but not the deluge of numbers that had flooded the rest of the ship. A naval officer that had been assigned to the ship for a few months spotted her and gestured towards Eric's ready room. She nodded her thanks before making her way over, receiving a few glares from the new people. Eventually, she'd have to head back to her quarters and put on a uniform or she'd just be asking for a confrontation.

"Sir, we can't keep them all here," Eric said through the open COM as Kaine stepped in. He glanced at her and nodded, acknowledging her presence. She nodded back before taking an at-ease position, prepared to wait as long as she needed. "We already have a full compliment," the Commander continued, turning back to his screen. "The ship is bursting at the seams. We don't have enough food, room, or supplies."

"I understand that the situation is uncomfortable," the person on the other side said, sounding like one of those paper-pushing bureaucrats. "However, we don't have the resources to send out just because your situation is not ideal. We are at war, in case you haven't noticed." Out of sight from the screen, Kaine winced. This person had obviously never dealt with Eric before. She almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

"Oh really?" the Commander asked, his voice deadly quiet. That was not a good sign. "I hadn't noticed that we were at war. I thought having aliens shooting at my men, watching entire planets be glassed, and sending home the bodies of my soldiers who died, if we were lucky enough to have a body, was just a normal part of being human." He leaned forward, his face hard while his eyes nearly spit fire. "Listen to me, you waste-of-space politician. I did not say that our situation was uncomfortable. I said that it was desperate. Either you clear my request for extra supplies from your base, or I am withdrawing every damn ODST I sent to protect your worthless ass." Silence for a moment and Kaine could almost hear the other man sweating in fear. "So? Do I get my supplies?"

"They'll be on their way to you in an hour." A cruel grin spread across Kaine's face. Yep, he was terrified. He should be, too. Eric was one of the scariest people she knew, and she'd grown up with Chief Mendez. "Is there anything else I can do to help you?"

"Just the supplies," Eric answered, leaning back into his seat. His demeanor was still icy, making it clear that he was still angry. "I expect the supplies here in three hours, is that clear?" The man must have nodded, because Eric nodded once. "Wonderful speaking to you, sir. Commander Faldon, out." As soon as the screen went blank, he slumped, allowing Kaine to see how tired he was. "God, I hate politicians."

"You say that every time you talk to one," she remarked dryly, finally stepping forward and taking a seat. She'd never tell him, but she felt honored that Eric trusted her enough to not only show weakness to her but also trust her with words that some people would label as treachery. "I keep telling you, if you could just stop talking to politicians your life would become so much easier and stress-free."

"The only way to stop talking to the damn leeches is to retire," he informed her snarkily, letting his head fall into his hands. However, he still managed to glare at her from between his fingers. "What are you doing up? I know for a fact that you were confined to bed for the next eighty-four hours."

"I was, but then we had an emergency," she reminded him, slouching in the chair to show just how much importance she put into the lecture she knew was coming. "You might know the one I'm talking about. The emergency where we had a few hundred marines get evacuated to the ship while the whole 105th is on duty."

"Don't get cheeky with me, sir," Eric jibed back, his lips twitching in a parody of a smile as he used her nickname. He'd never let her forget how they met. "That still doesn't tell me why you're still up. I already got the report from our CMO. He praised you for all your help with the new marines, but then reminded me that you should be resting. He also mentioned that he ordered you back to bed. So why are you currently sitting in my ready room?"

"There are still injured men lining the hallways. Several marines are being left to suffer through their pain with no painkillers because we ran out. Communications is overrun with new marines that are simply getting in the way. The bridge isn't doing much better. On the other side, since we weren't expecting a catastrophe, I had cleared several groups of Helljumpers shore leave so I'm finding myself short-handed now. Perhaps most important, I had to leave O'Brien with a clerical job." She almost laughed at her adopted father's cringe. O'Brien's hatred of anything clerical was nearly legendary. "Please, tell me how I'm supposed to handle all of this while trapped in a bed."

"You just came back from two weeks of near constant fighting on Draco V," Eric shot back, finally lifting his head from his hands. "That's not counting the four months you spent on the planet, trying to prepare various cities for the invasion we knew was coming. You've been thrown through walls, barely escaped innumerable grenades, had more narrow escapes with those Needler spikes than I care to remember, and had your leg virtually crushed by a Chieftain Brute's hammer. By all rights, you should not be alive right now. Is it so hard to understand why everyone wants you to rest?"

Kaine was silent a long time, staring out the nearby window. Her gaze was far away, and Eric became concerned. It wasn't often that she became like this. Most people thought she was being pensive. He knew that wasn't the case. That far away look, the detachment from reality, was the Spartan version of depression.

"But I'm not dead," she finally said, her voice quiet. "I was trained as a Spartan, Faldon. All the crap I went through on Draco V isn't anything compared to what we were trained and augmented for. Besides, my Helljumpers need me. They need to see that I'm still here, that I can continue my duty. I know you don't like it, but what I went through isn't enough to keep me down." She snorted, sounding amazingly self-deprecating. "After all, my kind are invincible. I thought you knew that." Eric wanted to argue, but there was enough self-hatred in her voice to stay his words. It was an ongoing argument the two had had for years. He couldn't understand how Kaine could hate herself so much for being a Spartan. It wasn't as though she had a choice. In addition, it had been noticed by Eric and O'Brien alike that Kaine never referred to herself as a Spartan. She admitted to being trained as a Spartan but the closest she would come to calling herself a Spartan was calling other Spartans 'her kind'.

Then she shook herself, forcing her mind back to the present moment. "I'd like to know what you expect me to do," she told Eric, finally facing him. "No supplies, no room, low on men, and I'm in charge."

"I'm sure you can come up with an answer," Eric replied, arching a brow at her. "Spartans are known for thinking outside the box."

"Exactly why I try not to do it where other people can see," Kaine muttered, eyes narrowed. "Following your orders is acceptable. Showing that my problem-solving skills are Spartan level is not."

The COM rung again, alerting the two to an incoming message. Checking the caller, Eric groaned and rolled his eyes. Another person he didn't like then. "Fine, fine," he told her. "Solve the problem yourself and then say that it was my orders. Make me look good."

"Working on it," she said with a smile as she stood up. "Vincent, inform the crew that we are saying, 'Screw you,' to the UNSC and that everyone can go home as I declare this war over. On Commander Faldon's orders, of course." She laughed at the evil glare she got from her adopted father, throwing him a mocking salute before leaving the room. It wasn't until she was off the bridge and on a lift that she muttered, "Vincent, please tell me you didn't actually send the message."

" _Of course not,_ " came the petulant answer. " _I've been with you for twenty-three years; I do know when you are being sarcastic._ " Kaine sighed in relief and nodded before turning her mind back to solving the disaster that had befallen the ship.

It wasn't until the next day that the mystery of Ghost was brought back to Kaine's attention. She was back down in medical, once again ignoring the dark looks from the medics. The medical supplies had finally arrived and she was nearly twitching to treat as many of the marines as possible. She couldn't truly remember what it was like to go without painkillers before her augmentations, but the cries of the men told her that they were in agony. Now that she had the ability to end their pain, she would not rest until every soldier was resting as comfortably as possible.

The marine she was treating just then had had his arm blown off by a Needler round. He was clearly in a lot of pain, but he tried to smile and joke with her as she changed his bandages. Normally she held herself aloof from marines, but this time Kaine found herself unable to deny the boy, barely out of his teen years, the distraction he was clearly seeking.

"It was insane, all that fighting," he told her as she tried to peel the bandages away without pulling off his scabs. "When I got hit, I thought I was gonna die. I know I might sound like a coward, but I was so relieved when our Sergeant told us that we wouldn't be going into the real heavy combat areas."

"You're not a coward for thinking that," Kaine told him gently, wincing herself as she pulled off part of his skin, making him hiss. "Any human with a modicum of intelligence would have felt relief at knowing they would be staying in an area that was relatively safe."

"True," he admitted with a strained laugh, resolutely looking away from where she was working. "I wonder if that means Hades Corps was insane for following Ghost into the middle of the heaviest fighting." He didn't notice her slight pause at his words. Ghost again.

"So, Ghost was in charge of Hades Corps?" she asked, resuming her work on the bandages. She also made a mental note to complain to the CMO about the bandages they were using. The damn things stuck to everything they weren't supposed to stick to.

"Yeah, they were the demolition squad on the base. When the attack started, they were the group that went to destroy all the prototypes." The last of the bandage finally came free, allowing both soldiers to breathe easier. Quickly checking the wound for infection, Kaine puzzled over this new information. Military prodigies were seldom assigned any type of group that did not involve combat. Was he assigned a demolition squad because of what happened to his last platoon? "I wanted to go after them," the marine continued, hissing as she rubbed some cream into his wound. "Well, before I got hit at least. I made it all the way to the edge of the combat field but then one of my buddies came after me."

"He tell you off for doing something reckless/stupid?" Kaine asked dryly, finally satisfied with the treatment of his wound. Making sure to use the good bandages, she started wrapping him up again.

"Sort of," the marine chuckled. "He cussed me out a little and asked what the hell I thought I was doing. Command had ordered a full retreat and my buddy was less than pleased that I was not retreating."

"Colonel Faldon!" the CMO called, glaring in her direction. Scowling, Kaine waved him off, quickly finishing her task. Giving the marine an apologetic smile, she quickly packed up her stuff.

"Sounds like you have a good friend," she told him, gently clapping him on his good shoulder. "You're here after all. I'm just glad your moment of heroic intent didn't end with you coming home in a box."

"You and me both, sir," he answered shakily but with a smile. "I might have lost my arm when I finally retreated, but I probably would have lost my life if I'd continued my rescue mission. Besides, Hades Corps managed to get off the planet by themselves. Although I'm still wondering what weapon system they were destroying. It was in Hangar 1030 and only the most secret weapons are kept there." Kaine noted the hangar in her mind as she nodded and trotted away. As soon as she had some downtime she was going to start putting all these puzzle pieces together. She figured that she owed Ghost that much. First, she had to deal with some hostile parties. Namely-

"Colonel Faldon, give me one good reason why I shouldn't use my medical authority to remove you from duty for the foreseeable future."

-the medical staff.

"You've threatened me with that since I came in yesterday," she told him dryly, putting her supplies away. The nurse she handed the supplies to threw her a small smile, making sure the CMO couldn't see her. At least some people appreciated her efforts. "Besides, you and I both know that taking me off duty would not help. I can work and volunteer just as much off duty as I can on, if not more." Bemusedly, she wondered if she could cook an egg on the man's bald head. He was certainly throwing off enough steam.

"Colonel, one of these days you are going to drop dead from working yourself too hard and ignoring doctor's orders. When that day comes, I will take great joy in watching you suffer as I remind you that I told you so." Kaine arched her brow at the furious man. If such an event were possible, she was sure that he would actually do it. She just wouldn't mention that it wasn't possible because of her Spartan enhancements.

"You do that," she told him instead, smiling chirpily before skipping out of the medical ward. There were only a couple untreated marines left and the medical staff could cover them well enough. Of course, the second she was out of sight she quit skipping and clutched her leg, calling herself twenty kinds of idiots. That had not been her best thought out plan.

"I never thought I'd need to find a babysitter for my thirty-three-year-old daughter." Hoping they were alone, Kaine threw a rude gesture over her shoulder towards Eric. He just chuckled, coming up to stand beside her as she continued to rub her leg. Despite Kaine being a Colonel and in charge of the entire 105th Helljumpers Eric truly enjoyed these moments when she acted like a child. She'd been cheated out of most of her childhood after all. Walking together a short ways, he glanced at her and quietly said, “You know, most ODSTs with your injuries wouldn't be capable of skipping.” Wincing, Kaine realized he was right. She was broadcasting her skills again. Making a note to pull herself back again, she smiled up at him, getting a grin in return. "Would I be overly optimistic if I assumed you were heading towards your quarters to rest now?"

Before Kaine could answer, a message came over the ship's communication system, alerting the ship to a minor explosion in one of the hangars. "What's rest?" Kaine asked sarcastically as she ran down the hall, telling the pain in her leg to shut up and go away. For a moment, she wondered if the explosion had been caused by O'Brien trying to escape the clerical work he was still assigned to. After all, the hangar they mentioned was the one that the marines had been given as a headquarters of sorts. She wouldn't be surprised if her friend had been trying his hand at an escape attempt.

About an hour later found Kaine helping the marines as they tried to put the hanger back together. O'Brien had been innocent, for a change. One of the new marines that didn't know that the small purple crates held grenades had decided to push said crate off the box he wanted to reach rather than carefully pick up the small crate and put it somewhere safe. Everything within fifteen feet of the crate had been destroyed while everything else had just been thrown around. The marine was currently in medical, being treated by an already stressed out CMO. Honestly, Kaine had no sympathy for the man. How hard was it to figure out the crate marked **Grenades** had grenades in it?

Struggling with an overturned desk, she cussed under her breath. Did they have to make these things out of solid steel? After all, they just proved that having desks made of heavy metal didn't stop them from being thrown around in an explosion. Moreover, it wasn't as if she could just use her augmentations and flip it over. No, that would attract way too much attention. Instead, she had to make it look like she was struggling, which had the adverse result of her act becoming reality. These things were too heavy to grapple with for an extended amount of time.

Just about to give in and drop the damn desk, Kaine was startled when the other side suddenly lifted, throwing her off balance. Righting herself, she glanced over to see an older man holding the other side, helping her lift it. Between the two of them, the desk was back on its feet in seconds. "Thank you," she breathed sincerely, wiping the sweat away. The man just smiled at her and she smiled back, until she spotted the insignia on his shoulder and blinked. "If I might be so blunt, what is an ONI officer doing here?"

The man arched a brow at her, clearly thinking she was insane for asking. "If you can see the insignia, you can see my rank, soldier." Yes, she could see his major insignia right there. Why would he-oh yeah. She still hadn't managed time to go back to her quarters and change into a uniform. Note-to-self: a trip to quarters has become number one priority.

"My apologies, Major," she replied, straightening her posture and looking him in the eye. "I'm Colonel Faldon, commander of the 105th Helljumpers. Please forgive my lack of uniform; I haven't had the time to get changed since this whole disaster began." Before the ONI man could reply, no doubt with disbelief about her identity, one of the marines rushed up to the two, falling into a salute as he reported to Kaine. Once he was finished, she waved him off, knowing he had just proven her claim to the ONI officer, which she turned back towards. "If I might repeat my previous question, what is an ONI officer doing here?"

"I was just checking on my men," he answered stiffly; apparently uncomfortable with knowing she outranked him. Granted, it was rare to find a supposedly thirty-eight-year-old Colonel, but come on! That didn't mean she wasn't friendly or reasonable. "I was the commander of T12A and was told that my men had been evacuated to your ship when our other ship was attacked by Covenant. Commander Faldon has already agreed to transport my men to Reach so I chose to come aboard and travel with them."

"I'm sure they appreciate that," Kaine told him with a small smile, trying to appear unthreatening. It hadn't escaped her notice that she was chatting with a person that would gladly kill her if he found out her past. After all, leaving the Spartan program was the same as desertion. Such actions always resulted in death. Now if only she could stop Vincent's acidic comments about the whole ONI branch in general and this man's mother specifically. Honestly, she'd never met an AI with a fouler mouth!

The hangar was nearly sorted, most items back where they belonged. A group from the quartermaster was off in a corner, tearing their hair out as they tried to figure out what items had been destroyed in the explosion. O'Brien was hitting his head against the wall while a marine rattled off a list of names to him, not noticing that the Helljumper wasn't paying any attention. Basically, the situation was back to normal. Which meant that Kaine had no excuse to find someone else that could take the ONI officer to the bridge to meet with Eric. Terrific.

"If you would follow me, Major, I'll take you to Commander Faldon," she said, gesturing towards the exit. The man nodded and fell into step behind her as she walked off. She could almost feel his gaze flick towards her bad leg as she limped but he didn't mention it. In fact, he kept quiet until they were inside one of the lifts, heading towards the bridge.

"Is Commander Faldon part of your family?" he asked curiously. The question tugged a tired smile to Kaine's face. She'd lost count of how many times she'd been asked that since Corbulo.

"He is," she confirmed, shifting and wincing as her leg protested for the millionth time. Eventually, she'd remember the damn thing. "However, he insists that I took after my mother. I'd have to agree, since I got nothing from him but his height."

"I see," he said. The hairs on Kaine's neck stood up as she felt him eye her suspiciously. "It just that you remind me of some friends of mine. Leonard and Allison McCoy." Years of training and sheer need prevented Kaine from stiffening at the names. This was not good. "They have a daughter about your age. A lovely girl named Lillian. Their other daughter, Klare, died when she was ten."

"That must have been horrible," she said sympathetically, her mind racing. Did he know? Did he suspect? Of course he suspected; he wouldn't have brought it up otherwise.

"They were pretty devastated," the officer acknowledged, looking forward once more. Maybe she'd allayed his suspicions for now. "My apologies for bringing it up. You just remind me of Klare. You almost look like her. You're just older and harder. Well, that and your silver eyes." Yeah, still suspicious. Wonderful.

"I hear that from a lot of people," she teased, hoping he wouldn't push any farther. "Apparently I look like a lot of people. One of my Helljumpers is convinced that I'm his ex-girlfriend. Which I'm not, but I can see why his ex dumped him." That drew a surprised chuckle from the man. Maybe that was the secret to staying hidden. Don't act like a Spartan. Now the only problem left was her thrice-cursed curiosity. This ONI officer was the one that sent that message about Ghost; she recognized his voice. Maybe he could tell her more about what had happened and what Ghost did. "Major, I don't mean to pry but I have some questions about the events on Algolis."

"Everyone has questions," he sighed, slight irritation on his face. Kaine could understand the feeling. No doubt the man had been pestered to the point of insanity about what had happened on the planet. Every commander was when something went wrong in his or her jurisdiction. "What are yours, Colonel?"

"What happened to Ghost?" He blinked at her, shock and surprise sweeping over his face. That was clearly not the question he was expecting. "I knew him," she tried to explain, shrugging a little. "He was a candidate for the ODSTs. Some of the marines that we took in have been talking about him and that he died on the planet. I was just wondering what happened." The silence stretched for a moment before the Major turned towards the lift doors once more.

"What happened is that he died a hero," he said softly. "Ghost was in charge of Hades Corps, an engineering group. They were the demolition team at Algolis. When Covenant attacked, Cole Protocol was put into effect. Hades Corps was tasked with the destruction of the prototypes in Hangar 1030. I thought they were following orders, until I looked out on the battlefield and saw the weapon system that they were supposed to be destroying. It was a giant suit, specifically designed to fight Covenant invasion forces. Ghost was the only marine from Hades Corps that would know how to work the damn thing."

The lift doors slid open, revealing a barren hallway. A tiny portion of Kaine's mind noted how rare the sight was, even without the abnormally high number of personnel on the ship, but the majority of her mind was focused on the ONI officer's words. When he made no move to leave the lift, she casually reached out and pushed the locking switch, ensuring that the lift would remain where it was.

"I raised the suit's communication system, furious at Ghost. I demanded to know what he was doing with the suit he was supposed to destroy. Accused him of disobeying a direct order. However, he insisted that he was actually following his orders. I ordered him to explain himself." He closed his eyes, leaning back against the lift's wall. "Ghost told me that he had destroyed all the data on the suit, as ordered, and that he was using what time the suit had left to ensure his men could evac safely. He told me that he wasn't going to leave until every one of his men was safe. In my anger, I didn't listen to him. I told him that his stunt was not in the plan and ordered him to stand down. He refused. The mission could not be compromised, he knew that, but he also felt a sense of responsibility to the marines under his command."

The man fell silent, struggling with the words that did not want to come. Kaine waited patiently. She could only imagine how the man felt. Well, all right, imagine was the wrong term. She'd talked to a few Helljumpers as they ran into situations she knew they would not survive. She knew how hard it was to talk about a person's final words. But Spartans were trained to do the difficult. The strain was probably greater for the ONI man.

"I begged for Ghost to listen to me. The situation was finally coming together in my mind, and I realized that Ghost did not intend to survive the battle. But he wouldn't listen. He reminded me that the suit had a staggered countdown and needed a voice command at the end to actually self-destruct." His gaze was far away, haunted and grieving. "We designed it that way for a reason. A reason I can't remember now. I tried one more time to reach Ghost; to convince him that there was another way. He didn't have to die. But he wouldn't budge. I remember his last words to me. 'Just get my men off this planet. This is Ghost. Over and out.'" There was finality as the man fell silent once more. Those were the last words Ghost had spoken to him.

The silence stretched until Kaine cleared her throat, catching his attention. "Commander Faldon's office is this way, Major," she said quietly. He nodded and followed her out of the lift, not noticing when she unlocked it. She doubted he'd even noticed it was locked, to begin with. The rest of their journey was silent, broken only by the salutes they received as they walked by. Once they reached Eric's office, Kaine gestured for the Major to enter but did not follow. Instead, she made her way back to the lift, determined to find a duty far away from the visiting ONI.

"Vincent," she said under her breath as the lift doors closed behind her, leaving her alone. "If that ONI officer looks up my files, warn me, will you?"

" _Of course I will,_ " he answered, no doubt keeping the ONI under constant surveillance. Even with all his gripes and jabs about the ONI department, he knew they were dangerous. He also knew how persistent they could be, even when all they had was a theory. So yes, he'd be keeping an eye on the Major. Kaine would just focus on keeping as far away from the man as the ship allowed.

At the moment, that meant returning to the medical ward. Kaine knew that protocol would keep the Major busy for a while before allowing him to come visit his injured men. It would give her time to think of her next plan in relative safety. Of course, first, she made a quick detour to her quarters and put on a uniform. Maybe now she'd quit getting those irritating looks.

The plan worked for the most part. All marines, regardless if they knew her or not, got out of her way. A couple that had treated her like a civilian realized who she was and had mild panic attacks. Kaine found herself cackling madly in her mind. Their looks of terror were quite amusing. She could fully understand why Mendez had found such enjoyment in keeping the Spartans in a state of constant terror about when he would strike next. If that meant she was a little demented, fine. She never claimed that Spartans weren't at least slightly sadistic.

The looks of terror changed to looks of irritation and anger as she stepped into the medical ward once more. She cheekily waved to the doctor who was almost foaming at the mouth as he glared at her. Eric would certainly be hearing from him again. Then she spied the marine with the popped cartilage and made her way over. "How are you feeling?" she asked, catching his attention.

"Better," he told her with a smile, the lines of pain absent from his face. He must have received some of the pain medication. "They refused my cartilage a few hours ago so I can finally breathe again. Which reminds me, thank you for your help yesterday. Binding my ribs helped."

"Of course it did," she told him, even as she checked the file that he finally had. Noting the last time he had pain medication, she realized he was due for another dose soon. "I'm not so incompetent in medical circles to not know how to treat popped cartilage. Now hold on while I get you some more pain medication." He nodded, a slight smirk at the corner of his mouth. Seems he didn't find her abhorrent bedside manner to be a bad thing. He was still smirking when she returned with the injection. She found a slight bit of revenge when he winced as she jabbed him. Yes, Spartans were sadistic.

However, she had another reason for coming over. "I talked to the ONI commander. He spoke with Ghost before he died." The marine fell silent, his gaze far away. "I thought you should know that the reason Ghost was in that suit was he was buying time for his men." That got a shocked reaction from the man. "He knew what he was doing, what he was risking. All he wanted was for his men to get off the planet." She met his eyes, very serious. "He cared for all of you."

The marine was silent for a long time, lost in thought. Kaine was just starting to think she wouldn't get a reply when he finally nodded. "We hated him," he said suddenly, catching her by surprise. "Ghost was always so detached. So unfeeling. He didn't endear himself to any of us. When Covenant attacked, Ghost took us to hangar 1030. My buddy and I were stationed outside, trying to hold off the advance. It was looking grim, and my buddy wanted to know what we were doing on the front lines when Cole Protocol had been enacted. He noted that the Sergeant, Ghost, was missing and that we were screwed. I told him we were sunk from the beginning. I knew about the sarge's old platoon being slaughtered and figured he'd just left us there to die. As far as the squad was concerned, the reason Ghost was called such was because he wasn't even human."

"I know the feeling," she told him quietly, thinking of the time she'd met Ghost after his platoon was killed. He hadn't seemed human.

The marine nodded to her, eyes dull. It helped him, knowing that she understood, but he still hurt. "We got hit," he continued. "My friend and I were blown backwards from an explosion. I think that's when my cartilage popped. Thought I was going to die. So did my buddy, actually. Then, out of nowhere, the suit landed between the Covenant and us. We didn't realize Ghost was in it until he told us to fall back. Said that we weren't to worry about Covenant because he was going to hold them off. And then he said that no one would be dying there. I wanted that to be true."

"Maybe it was in a way," Kaine mused, drawing the marine from his dark memories. "A dear friend of mine once told me that so long as there were people who remembered her, she'd never truly be dead. Her body would die, but her memory would live on. Just like Ghost's memory will live so long as there are people that remember him. Do you understand?"

The pair was silent for a long moment, staring at each other before the marine finally gave a small smile. "I think I do," he told her. "Thank you, sir." Nodding, Kaine smiled back at him before moving to the next patient. The marine would probably always have doubts about Algolis. Always wonder how things could have been different. Hopefully, though, he'd be able to make peace with himself now.

The next couple of days passed in a near constant blur for Kaine. Normally, the company on duty wouldn't have much work to do during their active time. All that was required was for the company to keep an eye on inventory, patrol the ship, and deal with any conflict the crew might have. Usually, the time was used as a relaxing break from fighting Covenant. However, with over twice the marines on board than the ship could actually hold, the 105th was having a very difficult time.

The ship was going through supplies far faster than normal, the new marines weren't ever sure about what parts of the ship they were allowed on, and altercations between new marines and the marines that were supposed to be on the ship became almost commonplace. This meant that Kaine was in a state of almost constant activity. If she wasn't working with Eric to get more supplies, she was rushing around the ship to settle disputes before they could become real fights. Any spare time she might have found was spent setting up patrols for her men and trying to teach the new marines which areas on the ship were restricted. Overall, it was a very rough rotation, and that wasn't even considering the fact that Kaine was constantly dodging the ONI officer. She never really had time to think about what she was going to do next, only what she was doing right then. Therefore, she was surprised when she was approached by a Helljumper from another company.

"Colonel Faldon," the Helljumper greeted, saluting smartly. She held the salute until Kaine returned it. "Forgive my bluntness, sir, but shouldn't you be in bed?" Kaine just blinked at her, unsure of what she meant. "Colonel, you were aware that the 105th rotation ended three hours ago, aren't you?"

"I am now," Kaine finally replied, glancing at a nearby display. Yep, 0307. "I must have got caught up in my work. Thank you for telling me, Sergeant. I'll just finish up here before turning in."

"Of course sir," the Helljumper answered, taking a seat at the terminal beside Kaine to begin her own work. They were silent for a while, each absorbed in their work until the Helljumper broke it. "Sir, I understand that you've been asking about what happened on Algolis, specifically about Ghost. May I ask why?"

Biting back the remark that the Helljumper had asked anyway, Kaine glanced at her instead. "I knew Ghost," she said simply. "I just wanted to know what happened to him. However, getting a straight answer around here is about as likely as training a Grunt to be a pet." The other Helljumper chuckled at the thought; though Kaine actually found the picture it formed in her mind a little morbid.

"That's true," the Helljumper admitted. "But I might be able to help a little. I was in hangar 1030 when Ghost and his squad showed up." That caught Kaine's attention and she turned to face the Helljumper. So she was one of the ODSTs that had been assigned to the station for security. That would explain why she wasn't overly familiar to the redhead. "I only saw him for a couple minutes. He and his men came rushing in and started destroying prototypes while Ghost accessed the computer banks and started wiping them clean. Once he was sure that the system would finish wiping itself, he turned to the suit. He kept muttering about how the system had a staggered countdown for self-destruct and he couldn't figure out how to give the voice command without being in the suit.

"That's when he figured out his plan, sir. I could see it in his eyes. By that time, all of the other prototypes were destroyed, so Ghost ordered his men to get to the shuttles. Then he turned to me and gave me the same orders. I argued with him, saying that we wouldn't leave until the final prototype was destroyed. He-" Her voice caught and she shook her head. Kaine noted the haunted look in her eyes as she forced herself to continue. "He told me that he would ensure the suit's destruction. Then he told me that enough humans had died that day and he didn't want the number to get any higher. I tried to argue with him, but he just ordered me out. Last I saw him, he was climbing into the suit. I didn't realize that he was sacrificing himself. If I had, I would have argued harder. Although I doubt I could have changed his mind."

"I doubt it too," Kaine remarked dryly, remembering Ghost whenever he made up his mind. She had no doubt that Ghost could have killed an Elite just by glaring at it if he was determined enough. A more stubborn person she'd never met and she grew up with John and Chief Mendez. "Thank you, Sergeant." She observed the ODST for a moment before clapping her on the shoulders, startling her. "I know this might be a pointless statement, but don't beat yourself up over Ghost's death. From everything I know about Ghost, both before and on Algolis, he knew what he was doing. This was his choice. We must respect that."

"Yes sir," the Helljumper finally answered, giving Kaine a watery smile. "I'll try to remember that."

"Make sure you do," Kaine replied, giving the ODST's shoulder a squeeze before walking off. With her rotation finally over, she could almost hear her bed calling to her. However, the seductive whispers of her bed were being drowned out by the furious roaring of her stomach, so Kaine changed her destination to the chow hall. Being the middle of the night, she knew that the hall wouldn't be crowded but was sure they would have an abundance of food ready for anyone who happened to be up at this hour. After all, there was always someone on the ship who was awake and hungry.

She wasn't disappointed, although she got tired of the cooks asking why she wasn't in bed. Since she didn't recognize any of their faces she assumed that they were rescued marines. The rest of the 105th had probably come through right at midnight, coming off their rotation, which would explain why the cooks knew she should be asleep right now. Luckily, none of them seemed to mind that she brushed off their questions without answering. Maybe the fact that it looked like she was falling asleep where she stood convinced them that she wasn't being rude. Come to think of it, that was probably why they were asking in the first place.

Finally filling her tray, Kaine chose an empty table to sit at. There weren't many Helljumpers in the hall at that moment but she didn't want to risk sitting with them. They were members of the 101st, possibly the only ODST Company that she did not get along with. Most times her interactions with the 101st were civil, but the odds of that happening were greatly reduced when both parties were tired and less likely to guard their tongues. Better to sit by herself. Besides, being alone ensured that she wouldn't have to converse with anyone, thereby shortening the time until she could get back to her bed.

"Excuse me, but may I sit here?" Then again, maybe not. Checking her sigh, Kaine looked up to find a civilian standing next to the chair across from her. Her surprise at seeing a civilian up at this time of night stayed her tongue long enough to make the woman even more nervous. "I don't mean to disturb you, really. It's just that I don't trust those men over there and I'm afraid to sit alone." Glancing in the direction the woman's eyes had flicked, Kaine spotted a group from the 101st leering at the civilian. Her eyes narrowed, even as she reminded herself that she couldn't shoot the men, as much as she wanted to.

"Of course you can sit here," she told the woman, looking back in time to catch her smile of utter relief. "My apologies for their actions. Rest assured, I will be talking to their commanding officer about their behavior." The woman opened her mouth to argue but shut it when Kaine arched a brow at her. The behavior of the Helljumpers was sickening and she refused to let it go unreported. Understanding that, the civilian just nodded and sat down, cradling her cup of coffee carefully. They were both silent for a few minutes before Kaine noticed how uneasy the woman was. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw the men were still watching her. Desperate to distract herself from the tempting idea of shooting them all between the eyes, she reluctantly started a conversation. "I haven't seen you around the ship before. Did you come from Algolis?"

The sudden words startled the civilian for a moment but she quickly smiled, understanding what Kaine was doing. "Yes, I am. I was one of the scientists that were working for ONI, attempting to replicate Covenant technology." Kaine frowned, wondering what a scientist was doing up so late at night. On the other hand, maybe early in the morning was a better statement. The woman caught her frown though and chuckled in embarrassment. "I realize you're probably used to the scientists that refuse to inconvenience themselves by doing anything as repulsive as working late or being awake when everyone else should be asleep. Normally, I like to be asleep at this time of night as much as the next person. Tonight I just-." Her eyes got distant and filled with pain. "I had a nightmare about Algolis. I wasn't brave enough to try and sleep again." Quietly, Kaine nodded and let the subject drop. However, she knew now that the door to conversation was open, they would not be silent long. "Were you on Algolis?"

"I was not," she answered, shaking her head slightly. "Actually, I had just returned to the ship from a four-month mission on Draco V a couple hours before we received the Algolis survivors."

"Oh," the woman answered, surprised. "My apologies. It's just that the last couple of days whenever I saw you, you were interacting with people I know from Algolis. I assumed you'd been stationed there and I simply hadn't met you before."

Chuckling, Kaine shook her head as she finished her meal. "No, no. My company was on duty the last few days, so I've been in charge of taking care of all the Algolis survivors. You know, finding room for them, getting supplies, stuff like that." The scientist nodded in understanding, a slight smile in the corner of her mouth. Taking half a second to consider what she was about to do, Kaine decided the risk was worth it. "If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering if you could answer a question I had about the events on Algolis." Cautiously, the woman nodded. "I've been hearing a lot about a suit that was used to fight off Covenant forces. The people I've spoken to have told me a lot about the pilot of the suit but very little of the actual battle. Did you see it?"

"Oh yes!" the scientist answered, eyes suddenly sparkling. "I'm not sure if I saw the whole thing but I saw a lot as our shuttle took off. It was a huge suit, mostly black, although it had yellow accents. When I first saw it, the suit was using some sort of machine gun to take down a Banshee. Then, before the Banshee could finish crashing, the suit turned and shot a cannon at the approaching Covenant forces. It moved so fast I couldn't follow it all the time. Once, the suit used some sort of jet pack and launched into the sky, destroying a Phantom. Back on the ground, it actually raced towards some Covenant troops, blowing right through them. It looked like it was winning, but then those horrible aliens finally focused all fire on the suit and ended up blowing it back into a rock wall. That's the last I saw of the suit. Although it wasn't long after that, that some sort of bomb must have gone off. I've never seen an explosion like that." Kaine nodded, a tiny smile tucked into the corners of her mouth. At least Ghost had made an impression. Before she could start gathering her trash, though, the scientist mused, "Of course, I'm sad we lost a Spartan, but I suppose it was inevitable."

Kaine froze, her mind shutting down. The scientist couldn't mean what she thought she meant. "A Spartan? I was unaware that there were any Spartans on Algolis."

"I wasn't aware of it either," the woman said with a negligent wave of her hand. "But who else could have piloted the suit like that? Only a Spartan would have been able to hold off Covenant troops. Don't get me wrong, I am sorry that we had to leave them behind, but it doesn't really matter, does it? After all, that's what Spartans are used for. They cover our retreat and protect our secrets, even if it means killing themselves." Silence hung over the table, broken only by the soft cracking that came from the mug Kaine was crushing in her grip. Slowly, she nodded towards the scientist, forcing her face to remain neutral, before getting up and walking away. Stopping only to snarl at the leering Helljumpers and nearly throwing them out of the hall, Kaine quickly made her way towards her quarters. She had work to do.

* * *

 

Time: 1700/

June 30, 2544/

Reach

A couple days later, the ship finally arrived at Reach. Wanting to say goodbye to the marine that had been in Ghost's squad, Kaine dragged herself away from her research and made her way down to the hangar. All the patients were already there, being loaded onto dropships for their trip to the planet. Luckily, the marine she was looking for was still waiting to be loaded. Smiling, she trotted over and greeted him, getting a smile in return. They stood in easy silence, watching the people around them until it was the marine's turn to get on the ship. Considering he was still a little unsteady on his feet, Kaine supported him as he walked onto the ship.

"Thank you for everything, sir," the marine said as Kaine helped him settle into his seat. She smiled at him, even as she quickly looked over the ship. The last few marines were being strapped in, ready for their trip to Reach. So far, everything was going according to schedule.

"You're most welcome," she told him happily. "However, next time you all decide to come visit, I do hope you'll remember to give us a bit of a heads up. No more of these surprise parties." The marine laughed, nodding happily, as one of the shuttle crew started strapping him down. Giving a small wave, Kaine scrambled back off the ship, already planning the next step in her research of Ghost. However, before she could head towards the records section, she literally ran into a solid chest. Stumbling back, she finally focused enough to see Eric's unimpressed look. "Commander! I didn't see you."

"I figured as much," he told her dryly, arching a brow as her face flushed. This was definitely making her list of Most Embarrassing Moments. "I just came to wish you safe travels, Colonel." The words jarred through her embarrassment, leaving her blinking.

"Sir?" she queried. "I was just here to see the marines off."

"No, you will be getting you ass back on the shuttle and going to Reach," Eric retorted. "The 105th has been off duty for the last two days and you still refuse to rest. I have received reports from all over the ship pertaining to your near constant activity and research. The CMO is ready to have an apoplexy, trying to figure out how to confine you to bed rest. He also reports that your leg is not healing as well as it should, because of your refusal to rest. Considering your past, you should have healed long ago. Ergo, I have decided to assign you five days of R and R. Now get back on the shuttle."

Kaine gaped at him, momentarily forgetting where they were. Her mind understood his words perfectly. Believing them was another matter. "You can't be serious, sir," she finally managed.

"I'm dead serious," was the reply. "I've even gone so far as to assign another Helljumper to accompany you as a babysitter to ensure that you actually rest."

"You what?!" she almost wheezed, her eyes bugging out of her head. "You're not only forcing me to go on R and R but you're also assigning me a guard?! Don't you trust me?"

"No. The last time I sent you on R and R for the purpose of you taking a vacation I received a complaint from the base commander that you had completely rearranged his base in every way from supplies to squad assignments."

"But sir, he was incompetent!"

"I don't care. Now get on board." Kaine opened her mouth to argue some more but was cut off by, "If you say anything other than 'Yes, sir,' I will make it ten days." Her mouth snapped shut almost painfully as she clearly struggled to swallow her words. Eventually, she managed a nod, her voice still tied up, and turned to re-board the ship. That was when she finally noticed O'Brien was sitting near the cockpit, dressed in civilian clothes. The seat next to him was empty and she threw herself into it, grumbling darkly as she strapped herself in.

"What are you doing here?" she finally huffed as the shuttle doors closed as they prepared for take-off. O'Brien shifted nervously before sighing.

"I'm your babysitter," he mumbled. Groaning, Kaine let her head fall back to strike the metal wall. This was going to be a great R and R. Why did Eric love torturing her so?

* * *

 

Five days later, Kaine stepped off the shuttle once more. She rolled her shoulders with a pained groan as she made a mental note to never return to the ship on a shuttle filled with new supplies. The ship was so cramped, she had wondered how they had any room for breathable air.

"I'm never doing that again," O'Brien wheezed, finally squeezing off the packed shuttle behind her. Kaine threw him a sympathetic look as he took the opportunity to stretch. At least her Spartan training prevented her from falling prey to claustrophobia. The older Helljumper didn't have that luxury. "Do we have to report to Commander Faldon now, or can we catch a bite to eat?"

"I'll report in," she told him, gently touching the bag that was slung over her shoulder. "I need to drop off my report anyway. You can head to the chow hall. Just save me a spot." He nodded in acceptance, throwing Kaine a small smile, before trotting towards the exit. Kaine watched him for a moment, using the seconds to collect herself, before taking a deep breath and heading towards the lift. Vincent informed her that Eric was in his quarters but still awake, despite the late hour. So that's where she went, quietly moving through the halls. There weren't many Helljumpers in the halls, considering it was long after night shift was to begin. Those that were out greeted her pleasantly, some asking how her R and R went. They then proceeded to laugh when she made a disgusted face. Another one of her quirks that had become infamous among the Helljumpers was her dislike for time off.

Reaching Eric's quarters, Kaine knocked respectfully and waited until she heard a call for her to enter. Obeying, she quickly spotted her adopted father at his desk, a stack of reports beside him. He smiled as she entered; putting down the pad he had been looking at. "Welcome home, Kaine," he greeted, genuinely pleased to see her. "Did you enjoy your R and R?"

"You know full well that I never enjoy my R and R's," she retorted, but was unable to sound sharp as a smile spread across her own face. She'd die before she'd admit it, but she'd missed Eric. A lot. "O'Brien kept me from any strenuous duty as you ordered, but that didn't stop me from working."

"I was afraid of that," Eric grumbled, leaning back in his chair with a look of long-suffering on his face. "Let me guess, you've completely rearranged the duty roster? Mixed up our platoons? Had Vincent hack into ONI databanks so that he could change the name of every ONI officer into something immature and demeaning? Bought a bunch of rabbits and let them loose at UNSC command?"

Allowing her smile to turn innocent with a hint of evil in the corners, Kaine took the seat before him. "Oh, so you heard about the UNSC? Did they manage to catch all the rabbits yet? And how did you find out about the ONI prank?" Eric just held up a memo that apparently came from an 'Admiral Chicken-Butt'. "Ah. So they haven't managed to fix it yet. Oops." She laughed as Eric scowled at her. He should have known better than to force her on R and R. Then she turned serious, catching the man by surprise. "Still, I did some serious work as well, sir." Realizing she was now in formal mode, Eric sat up straight. Reaching into the bag she carried, Kaine pulled out a pad and handed it to the man.

He quickly accessed the report and skimmed through it. His eyebrows arched, surprised, before he met her gaze once more. "A report on Ghost's action on Algolis? Why did you make this? The incident on Algolis has already been reported in full and Ghost's actions were noted."

"I made that report for two reasons," Kaine answered, her posture still very stiff. "The first is that Ghost deserves to have his story told. I read the report on Algolis, sir. Ghost was mentioned in passing. He was a hero. Everything he did was heroic. People still refer to Ghost as an unfeeling shell of a human being. They don't realize what he did and what he sacrificed. He deserves more than that." Eric nodded in understanding. The Algolis report was sparse on information about Ghost. Honestly, Eric himself had been unaware of Ghost's full actions until skimming Kaine's report. He could only imagine what he'd learn when he read the report in full. However-.

"You said you had two reasons," he reminded her, meeting her gaze squarely. "What is the second one?" Kaine shifted in her seat, though her gaze remained steady. She wasn't nervous about what she wanted to say. She just wasn't sure how to say it.

"I've spoken to some of the people that witnessed the suit in battle. People that didn't know that Ghost was the person operating the suit. Every one of them assumed it was a Spartan that was fighting." Catching movement, Eric glanced down at her hands. They were clenched into fists and shaking with suppressed emotions. What sort of emotions, he wasn't sure, as her face and voice were still neutral. "It's wrong, sir. Wrong that they assume the soldier was a Spartan for no other reason than the suit fought and held against Covenant forces." Now Eric could see the tightening around her eyes. Kaine was mad. "Spartans have enough on their shoulders, sir. They are hated and feared and shunned and worshiped and revered, sometimes all at the same time. People call them monsters and freaks, but the second they need help they look for a Spartan to save them. They claim to know who and what Spartans are, but they really don't know anything. Spartans were trained to be a secret weapon against Insurrectionists but became humanity's only hope for survival."

Kaine leaned forward, finally allowing Eric to see the passion she had for the words she was speaking. "They don't deserve the weight that humans have put on them, sir. They are only human, just like you and me. There are so few Spartans left that it's unfair to expect them to win this war on their own. Ghost proved that someone besides a Spartan could stand up to the Covenant and fight. He proved that humans don't need Spartans to save them. They can save themselves. All it takes is a little bit of skill and a lot of courage. I want people to know that. I want people to realize that they can defend themselves. I want humans to realize that we can win this war as a group." Her eyes softened, showing a pain that Eric had never seen before. "I want to remove some of the weight that the Spartans carry. Even if only a tiny bit."

Silence fell upon the pair, the kind of silence that deafened. Both officers held their poker faces, unwilling to show their thoughts. Eric, because he was trying to work through a series of emotions. Kaine, because she didn't trust herself with the powerful emotions that were racing through her. It had been a long time since she had felt so strongly about anything. Truthfully, she was a little disconcerted.

"I understand," Eric finally said, allowing a little of his emotion to show. Kaine was surprised to see pride in his expression. "I will review your report and pass it on to the proper people." She noted that he had not said that he would pass it on to the proper authority. The upper echelon would not hesitate to cover up Ghost's actions; wanting the populace to still believe that Spartans were their only hope. However, these proper people were no doubt people that would ensure the message was heard, no matter how hard the UNSC tried to suppress it. Kaine understood that. So rather than comment, she nodded and stood to go. However, before she could turn around, Eric let his pride show fully, startling her. "I have known you for fourteen years, sir," he told her quietly. "This is the first time I've seen an example of what you've always said. The desire to protect and defend other Spartans. I love you dearly, Klare, but I have been waiting for you to realize that you can be an ODST while still being a Spartan. As you said, Spartans are not the weapons or heroes that everyone treats them as. They are human. You are human. It's not wrong for you to not only think of yourself as a Spartan but to take pride in being such."

For a long moment, Kaine stood frozen. Eventually, she nodded and walked out. The halls were oddly silent as she walked the short distance to her own quarters. Once safely inside, she went to her bunk and pulled out the box she had stored underneath. Inside was a book, a very old-fashioned book. Like she'd told Lasky years ago, she was old-fashioned. It was a photo album that she had made years ago. Inside was a picture of every person she knew who had died. Some of the pictures had been hard to get, like Sam and Cal. Others were easier, like all the Helljumpers she'd met and lost. However, she was dedicated to the project, not resting until she had a photo. Each picture had its own page with a single sentence that she felt described the person. Now, on the next blank page, she carefully placed Ghost's picture. Taking a pen, she carefully wrote in the words that she'd thought long and hard about.

_And for one last instant, he was human again._

About to close the book, she paused. She knew that O'Brien was waiting for her in the chow hall. He was probably wondering where she was. But Eric's words were echoing in her head and she couldn't ignore them. So instead of closing the book, she flipped to the opening page. She read the short intro she'd written back when she started the book. The first two sentences caught her attention. My name is Kaine. I am a Helljumper. After a long moment of hesitation, she picked up the pen and crossed them out. She'd thought that she would feel a reluctance or hesitancy as she put the pen to the paper, but instead, there was a feeling of rightness. Maybe Eric was right. There was no shame.

Finished, she put the book on her bed so the ink could dry. O'Brien wouldn't wait much longer, she knew. He wasn't overly pushy and recognized that she outranked him, but he did get mighty testy when anything or anyone got between him and his food. She'd kept him waiting long enough, so she got back on her feet and went to the door. Glancing back at the book only once, she let her gaze sweep over the new words before leaving.

_My name is Klare. I am a Spartan._

 


	5. Sigma Octanus

**Sigma Octanus IV**

Time: 1751\

July 18, 2552\

Sigma Octanus IV

Harland winced as another grenade went off nearby. His eyes swept the area before him, silently despairing at the situation. His men were scattered, most either dead or dying. The Covenant troops were pushing in even farther, quickly eating away at the little safe ground the Marines had left. Their only hope now lay in an evacuation and that wouldn't occur if they didn't get in contact with some other group by radio soon.

Fincher suddenly handed Harland the radio set. "Sir, SATCOM is good," he reported, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "I've got the _Leviathan_ on the horn." Harland instantly held the radio set in a death grip. This was his men's last hope.

"This is Corporal Harland," he said into the set, hoping his voice didn't sound as desperate as he felt. Or maybe he was hoping it did. He wasn't sure anymore. "The Covenant has hit Firebase Bravo and Alpha HQ-and wiped them out. We've repelled the enemy from Alpha site, but our casualties have been nearly one hundred percent. We have wounded here. We need immediate evac. Say again: we need evac on the double." Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for the reply. The next few seconds would decide the fate for him and his men.

" _Roger, Corporal. Your situation is understood. Evac is not possible at this time. We've got problems of our own up here-"_ The voice cut away to static, leaving Harland with a cold lump in his throat. No evac was coming. They were all going to die. But then the voice came back. _"Help is on the way."_ And the channel went dead.

"Check the transceiver," Harland ordered, handing the set back to Fincher. The Marine did as ordered but shook his head. Their set was working which meant the problem was on the other end. Harland didn't want to think about the sort of trouble the fleet was having. He'd seen more than his fair share of planets glassed from orbit and knew it could likely happen here. He didn't want to die on this planet-not like that.

But right then there were men depending on him, so Harland pulled himself back together. "They said help is on the way," he told the other men in the bunker. "So relax." They gave him looks of disbelief; looks he knew he was answering in kind. He looked up at the blue sky, feeling his hope trickle away. "They better send a whole regiment down here."

Other Marines made their way to the bunker. They had managed to salvage some supplies like ammunition and extra rifles. There were also a few Jackhammer missiles and a crate of frag grenades. Fincher took the only functioning Warthog to look for larger weapons he could transport back. Reluctantly, the men settled in to wait. In the distance they could hear explosions, showing that the battle was still raging somewhere. At one point they treated more of the wounded, watching in despair as some slipped into comas. Walker finally came over to Harland, his movements hesitant. "So-now what, sir?"

Harland didn't look at Walker, choosing instead to cover one of the wounded with another blanket. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "Can you fight?"

"I think so."

"Good." He passed Walker a rifle. "Get up there and stand watch." Taking out a cigarette, Harland lit it and took a puff before offering it to Walker. The other Marine took it shakily before standing and going outside. Almost immediately, he was yelling.

"Sir!" he called. "Dropship inbound. One of ours!" Harland grabbed his flares and quickly ran outside, squinting at the horizon. High on the edge of the sky was a dot, accompanied by the roar of a Pelican engine. He pulled the pin from his signal grenade and tossed the smoker on the ground. A moment later, thick clouds of green were rolling into the sky. The dropship turned quickly and descended towards their location. Eagerly, Harland shaded his eyes to look for the rest of the dropships. However, there was only the one to be seen.

" _One_ dropship?" Walker whispered. "That's all they sent? Christ, that's not backup...that's a burial detail." Harland said nothing, finding himself in full agreement.

A moment later the Pelican landed. The launch ramp fell open and a dozen figures marched out. For a moment Harland thought they were those creatures he'd seen earlier. Taller than any human could ever be and covered in powerful armor. He froze, unable to reach his weapon, let alone lift it. But then he realized that these figures were human. Extremely large and heavily armored humans, to be sure, but they were humans all the same. The one in the lead stood over two meters tall and looked like he weighed around two hundred kilograms. His armor reflected light strangely and his movements were so fluid and graceful while being fast and precise and the same time. They were all more machine than human, Harland thought.

Then the leader was moving towards him and he didn't have time to think anymore. There was no insignia on the armor but Harland could see the symbol of a Master Chief Petty Officer on the thing's HUD. "Master Chief, sir!" Harland said as he snapped to attention and saluted.

"Corporal," it answered. "At ease. Get your men together and we'll get to work." Harland blinked in confusion.

"Sir?" he asked. "I've got a lot of wounded here. What work will we be doing, sir?"

The Master Chief's helmet cocked to the side, apparently in slight confusion. It reminded Harland of his niece's puppy back home. "We've come to take Sigma Octanus Four back from the Covenant, Corporal," it answered calmly, as though the answer should have been obvious. "To do that, we're going to kill every last one of them."

* * *

 

John surveyed what was left of Camp Alpha, which wasn't much. Out of the original four hundred men and women that had been stationed at this point, fourteen Marines were left. He turned to Kelly, grateful that his HUD would hide his grave expression. "Post a guard on the dropship, and put three on patrol. Take the rest and secure the LZ," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," she answered before turning to the others. She pointed, made three quick hand gestures, and they all dispersed like ghosts. After making sure they were gone, he turned back to the Corporal.

"Are you in command here, Corporal?" he asked although the question was likely unnecessary. With so few Marines left there was a good chance that any one of them could take command. Still, Harland looked around before nodding.

"I guess so-sir," he said. John approved of the man for taking command of the situation but also felt that Harland would be grateful to relieve that responsibility.

"As of 0900 Standard Military time, NavSpecWeap is assuming control of this operation. All Marine personnel now report through our chain of command. Understood, Corporal?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, Corporal, brief me on what happened here."

The Corporal hunkered down right there, scratching a rough map into the dirt as he quickly reported on the series of surprise attacks that had decimated their numbers. "Right here," he said, pointing to one section of the dirt map. "Grid thirteen by twenty-four. That's where they hit us, sir. Something's goin' on there." John scanned the rough maps, compared them to maps displayed on his HUD, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Get your wounded inside the Pelican, Corporal," he ordered. "We'll be dusting off soon. I want you to rotate by thirds on guard duty. The rest of your men should get some sleep. But make no mistake-if the Pelican gets fragged, we'll be staying on Sigma Octanus Four." He watched with a slight amount of amusement as the Marine paled before acknowledging the order. The Corporal stood slowly, obviously feeling the long day catching up with him, before saluting and moving to assemble his team.

Behind the shield of his HUD, John frowned. The Marines were now under his command, making them part of his team. However, they did not have the Spartan training or firepower, leaving them more as liabilities then allies. Just another snag in a mission that was already full of snags. "Team Leaders, meet me at the LZ in three minutes," he ordered over the COM. His HUD lit up with lights, showing that the other Spartans had acknowledged his order. Taking one last moment to survey the destruction of the camp, he sighed, already tired. There was so much destruction, so much death. They'd have to get a burial detail down to the surface before the Grunts got to the bodies.

There had been a time when John wouldn't question his superiors. A time when he believed that those in command had a reason for everything and it wasn't his place to understand the larger picture. All that had changed when he watched thirty silver coffins launch into empty space, one containing the body of a girl with red hair and green eyes. From that moment, he lost his faith in command. They would never tell soldiers the whole truth. Any lie was permissible if it meant that no one would act out. So he didn't stop himself from feeling bitterness at whoever had set these camps up without proper reconnaissance. They'd clearly trusted the satellite transmissions blindly, even in an enemy-held region. They were fools. Worse, they had wasted the lives of good soldiers.

Green Team's leader jogged towards him from the south. John couldn't see her face but could tell it was Linda from the way she moved. The SRS99C-S2 sniper rifle with Oracle scope was another clue.

She carefully looked around, battle ready as always, before verifying that the area was secure and slinging the rifle across her back. She snapped a crisp salute to John, no doubt serious faced beneath the HUD. "Reporting as ordered, Master Chief."

Joshua, Red Team's leader, ran in from the east, saluting as he came to a stop. "Motion detectors, radar, and automated defenses up and running, sir."

"Good," John acknowledged. "Let's go over this one more time." No doubt the other two already had the plan memorized but he wasn't taking any risks on this mission. So, ignoring their unseen reactions, he overlaid a topographic map onto their HUD displays. "Mission goal one: we need to gather intelligence on Covenant troop disposition and defenses at Cote d'Azur. Mission goal two: if there are no civilian survivors, we are authorized to remote detonate a HAVOK tactical nuclear mine and remove the enemy forces. In the meantime, we will minimize our contact with the enemy." The two Spartans nodded.

John highlighted the four streams that fed into the river delta near the city. This was new information but he knew they were both paying attention. "We avoid these routes. Banshees patrol them." He circled where Firebase Bravo had once been located. "We'll avoid this area as well-according to the Marine survivors, that area is hot. Grid thirteen by twenty-four also has activity. Red Leader, take your squad in along the coast. Stay in the tree line. Green leader, follow this ridge line, but keep under cover too. I'll be taking this route." He traced a path through a particularly dense section of jungle. "It's 1830 hours now. The city is thirteen kilometers from here-that should take us no more than forty minutes. We'll probably be forced to slow down to avoid enemy patrols-but we all should be in place no later than 1930 hours."

He zoomed in on the map, focusing on the city of Cote d'Azur. "Entry points to the city sewer system are here," he informed, highlighting the locations with NAV points. "Red Team will recon the wharf areas. Green takes the residential section. I'll take Blue Team downtown. Questions?"

"Our communications underground will be limited," Linda said. "How do we check in while keeping our heads down?" John allowed himself a small smile. Leave it to Linda to think of that.

"According to the Colonial Administration Authority's file on Cote d'Azur, the sewer systems here have steel pipes running along the top of the plastic conduits. Tap into those and use ground-return transceivers to check in. We'll have our own private COM line."

"Roger," Linda answered. Joshua just nodded silently.

John continued, "As soon as we leave, the dropship dusts off and will move here." He indicated a position far to the south of Alpha camp. "If the Pelican doesn't make it, our fallback rendezvous point is here." He indicated a pointy fifty kilometers south. "ONI's welcoming committee has stashed our emergency SATCOM link and survival gear there." He waited for a moment, but neither of his friends mentioned that survival gear would be utterly useless if the Covenant glassed the planet. "Stay sharp. And come back in one piece. Dismissed."

They saluted briskly before sprinting to their tasks. John watched them for a moment before turning to the Blue Team's frequency. "Time to saddle up, Blue Team. RV back at the bunker for orders." Three blue lights blinked within his HUD.

A moment later, the other three Spartans in his squad trotted into position. "Reporting as ordered," Blue-Two announced. John quickly filled them in on the mission.

"Blue-Two," he said, glancing at the Spartan in question. It was Kelly, he could tell from the way she held herself. He'd tell her that she looked like a hunting hound straining at the leash but he wasn't in the mood to dodge her punch that was sure to follow. "You're carrying the nuke and medical gear."

"Affirmative," she answered. "Who'll have the detonator, sir?"

"I will," he answered. "Blue-Three." That was Fred. "You have the explosives. James, you'll take our extra COM equipment." They all nodded before quickly checking their gear. Each Spartan was armed to the teeth with a variety of weapons, ensuring that they would be able to fight effectively against any opponent. At least, they would against any enemy that they knew of. ONI was concerned that there were still alien species within Covenant that no human had managed to see and live to talk about. Once they were sure they all had their gear, John gave the order to head out.

The whole squad moved quickly. They entered the jungle seamlessly, moving in a single line with James in the lead. He had an instinct for walking point, much like another girl John knew. A girl with fiery red hair and eyes that could say more than her words ever would.

Realizing what he was thinking of, John shook his head viciously. He couldn't afford the pain that thinking of that girl would bring him. Not now. Maybe later, when he was in the safety of his quarters with no one around to see him, maybe then he would break down. That was when he could think of those green eyes without trouble. That was when he could allow himself to fall to pieces as he remembered her. This was not that place.

The group moved cautiously, stopping every hundred yards so James could survey the area for any sign of the enemy. The rest of the team would crouch low to the ground, allowing themselves to disappear into the thick jungle foliage. At one such point, John checked his HUD; they were one-quarter of the way to the city. So far the team had made good time, even with their cautious pace. Their MJOLNIR armor allowed them to push through the vegetation with ease; leaving the Spartans feeling like this was a pleasant stroll through a garden.

As the team moved further on, the thin layer of mist that had been their companion since entering the jungle finally turned into hard, pelting rain. The ground, which had already been damp, gradually turned to mud, forcing the team to go even slower. Then, suddenly, James stopped dead in his tracks and raised his fist...the signal to halt and freeze. John also stopped, his rifle raised as he swept his gaze back and forth, searching for movement. Usually, the Spartans relied on their armor's motion detection to locate enemy troops. Out here, their sensors were useless. Everything moved in the jungle, even without the rain. They had to rely on their eyes, their ears, and James.

" _Point to Team Leader: enemy contact,"_ James' calm voice reported through the COM. _"Enemy troops within one hundred meters of my position, ten degrees left."_ Moving with exaggerated slowness, James indicated the danger area by pointing. John quickly ran through his options and chose one.

"Affirmative," he answered. "Blue Team: hold position." He quickly switched his HUD displays from motion trackers to thermal views. That proved much more effective as he was able to spot three cold spots despite all the rain. They must have been Grunts in their chilled environmental suits. "Blue Team: enemy contact confirmed," he said quietly. "Estimated enemy strength, Point?"

" _Lead, I make ten; say again, ten Covenant troops. Grunts, sir. They're moving slowly. Double-file formation. They haven't spotted us. Orders?"_ John's orders had stated to keep enemy contact to a minimum as the Spartans were too spread out to sustain a prolonged engagement. However, the Grunts were heading right for the Marine bunker.

"Let's take them out, Blue Team." Silently, all four Spartans started moving into position for an engagement. Once closer, John could pick out each Grunt on his thermal display. He also noted that they seemed relaxed and bored; only the point and rear guards had their weapons at the ready. The rest were treating this as a social time. This battle would almost be too easy.

"They're seventy meters from this depression," he told the rest of Blue Team, keying a NAV point on their topographic displays. "Their heading for the western hill and will probably follow the terrain to the top. We'll fall back now, and take concealed positions along the eastern hill. Blue-Four, you're our scout-stay near the bottom and let us know when the rear guard passes you. Take them out first, they seem alert. Blue-Two you have overwatch at the top of the hill. Blue-Three, back me up. Silenced weapons only-no explosives, unless things go bad." Fred almost pouted at that point, John could tell. His friend certainly did love his explosives. "Move out." Slowly, the Spartans crept back along their path and spread out along the hill.

John, in the center, readied his assault rifle. He knew the team was virtually invisible in the thick foliage, the pouring rain helping conceal them from view. Once his weapon was ready he settled down to wait. One minute went by. Two. Three. Then James' signal blinked twice on John's HUD. He relaxed the grip on his weapon, waiting-

-There. Twenty meters distant, the Grunt point came into view as it moved to the edge of the western hill. It paused, sweeping its plasma rifle around as it scanned the area, before slowly moving up the rise. A moment later, the rest of the Grunts appeared, following their leader. James' light blinked again. Now.

John fired automatically, a short, three round burst. Those rounds tore through the Point's throat protection, destroying its environmental suit. The Grunt clutched at its neck for a second before falling to the ground, dead. Behind it, the Grunt formation came to a clumsy halt. Then John spotted two strobe flashes, the rear guards also falling to the ground. _"Blue-Four to Lead: rear-guard eliminated."_

"Hit them!" John barked to the rest of the squad. They all four opened fire. Less than a second later, four Grunts fell down, dead from head shots. The remaining three Grunts scrambled with their weapons, trying to find their unseen enemies. They were dropped before they could.

Once all Grunts were dead, Kelly quickly gathered their weapons and handed a plasma rifle to each member of the team. All UNSC troops were under standing orders to seize Covenant weapons and technology whenever possible. With their new weapons in place, Blue Team fanned out again, resuming their path towards the city. When they heard Banshees overhead they hunkered down in the mud until the fliers had passed by. Ten more kilometers of rough terrain later and they were stepping out of the jungle and into rice paddies that stretched out before them, not stopping until they reached the city proper. Crossing the fields would be much more difficult than moving through the jungle as there was little natural cover. The Spartans donned camouflage cloaks that masked their thermal signatures before crawling through the muck on their stomachs. It wasn't as bad as some of the exercises they'd done in training with Mendez but John still did not enjoy it. When they finally emerged from the mud, their armor covered so that John couldn't tell what color they were anymore, they were on the beach at the edge of the city. John quickly checked his map and made his way to the sewage outlet. The two-meter diameter pipe was sealed with a steel grate. However, John and Fred easily bent the bars back, clearing the way so they could all enter.

They moved through hip deep muck, all four grateful for their suits' ability to filter the air so they didn't have to suffer the smell as well. John didn't like the cramped quarters, knowing it would affect their fighting ability, but kept quiet. There was nothing he could do about the situation. Motion sensors were again rendered useless, leaving them without their usual source of advanced warning as well. Instead, John followed the electronic map as they made their way through the pipes. Every now and then they would come across a beam of light coming from a manhole-cover above them. Every so often something up there would move, cutting the beam off with their body. It was a constant reminder of what was right about their heads. The team moved quickly, not stopping until they reached the downtown section of the city. With a jerk of his head, John signaled for Blue Team to spread out as he used a fiber-optic probe to peer up through a storm grate at street level, plugging the probe into his helmet. The sight was what he'd expected. Grunts positioned on street corners, Banshees flying around in patrols, every man-made item in sight trashed or set on fire. No sign of human life. Pulling the probe back, John moved Blue Team up a block and took another look. There was more activity here. Black armored Grunts walked the streets while a pair of Jackals fought over a hunk of meat that John didn't want to identify. But there was another group of creatures on the sidewalk-or maybe above the sidewalk was a better way to describe the scene.

The aliens were roughly man-size but they floated above the ground. They were vaguely slug-like, with pale, purple-pink skin. Unlike every other Covenant species John had seen, they were not bipeds. Each alien had several tentacles that sprouted from their thick trunks. There was also an odd, pink bladder on each creature's back, possibly the cause of their floating situation. As John watched, one creature opened the hood of a car and began to dismantle the engine. It worked quickly, movements so fast that John thought it could give a Spartan a challenge in speed. In about twenty seconds the thing had the entire engine dismantled, the pieces laying in neat rows on the pavement. The creature paused, seeming to observe the pieces, before it started reassembling the engine as it was. This process repeated several times, the creature occasionally putting the pieces back in other ways as though to see if it could make something new or better out of the same parts. Finally, it put the engine back the way it was supposed to be before floating on its way. John made sure his mission recorder had gotten that. This was a Covenant race never documented before. Seemed ONI was right in their thoughts this time.

Now that the floating thing was gone, John rotated the probe to point down to the opposite end of the street. There was more activity another block away. Quickly, he retracted the probe and hurried his team over a block. Motioning for the others to stand guard, he quickly climbed a short ladder so that he could poke the probe up through a manhole cover. For a second his vision was impeded but then he realized that half his view was filled with a Jackal hoof. With excruciating slowness, he turned the probe and saw fifty more Jackals milling about. They were concentrated around a building across the street. The building itself reminded him of pictures he had seen in Deja's classroom years ago. It looked like an ancient temple that one would find in Athens or other Greek cities. At the top of the steps was a pair of stationary guns. That couldn't be good. Pulling the probe back, John consulted his map. The building was marked as the city's Museum of Natural History.

Now the question was why the Covenant was protecting a human structure. It was very much outside of their normal behavior, which made it very worrisome. The positioning of the stationary guns proved that any frontal assault would be suicidal, no matter who attacked. Such heavy protection; could the building be their headquarters?

Catching Kelly's attention, John pointed at the access way that led under the building in question. Using the sign language that all Spartans had learned during their training, he told Kelly to go scout out the passage. The female Spartan instantly obeyed, moving carefully into the gloom. For a brief moment John thought of how those green eyes would laugh as the girl tried to teach him that brand of sign language so that he could teach it to the others. Then the thought was shoved away like all the others had been. Instead, he checked the time and noted that the other teams were due to report. He had James attach the ground-return transceiver to the pipes overhead. "Green Team, come in."

" _Roger: Green Team Leader here, sir,"_ Linda answered quietly over the channel. Apparently she was in a location where Covenant could easily hear her. _"We've scouted the residential section. No survivors-just like Draco Three. We're too late."_ He understood. All Spartans had seen it before. Covenant did not take prisoners. On Draco III they had watched through satellite linkup as any human survivors were herded out to an area only to be torn apart by starving Jackals and Grunts. The Spartans hadn't managed to get to the location in time to save anyone. But the victims had been avenged in full.

"Green Team: stand by and prepare to fall back to the RV and secure the area," he said. Linda acknowledged before John switched to the Red Team's COM channel. "Red Team: report."

" _Red Leader, sir. We've got something for ONI. We've spotted some new type of Covenant race. Little guys that float. They seem to be some sort of explorer or scientist type. They take things apart, then move on, like they're looking for something. They do not, repeat not, appear hostile. Advise that you do not engage. They raise a pretty loud alarm, Blue Lead."_ John's heart skipped a beat.

"You in trouble?" The others all tensed, ready to spring into action if the answer was an affirmation.

" _Dodged trouble, sir. But there is one snag."_ John closed his eyes, stifling a groan. How he hated that word. Spartans were trained to deal with just about anything combat related. Those were complications or setbacks. Snags were events that the Spartans had not been trained for. Snags always led to headaches. "Go ahead."

" _We have survivors. Twenty civilians hid in a cargo ship here. There are several wounded."_ Well, yes, that was certainly a snag. John's orders were clear; they were not to set up the nuke if there was a civilian population at risk. However, the nuke would wipe out ten thousand enemy troops.

"New mission objective, Red Team Leader," John said, thinking fast. "Get those civilians to the recovery point and evac them to the fleet." He didn't wait for an affirmation, quickly switching channels to broadcast to all Spartan teams. "Green Team Leader, you still online?" There was a pause before Linda replied positively. "Move to the docks and coordinate with Red Team-they have survivors we need to evac. Green Team Leader has strategic control of this mission." Both Spartans acknowledged his orders before signing off, hurrying to complete their mission. John knew it would be difficult. The civilians would slow them down and any fighting would attract the attention of other Covenant troops. Still, he had faith in their abilities.

Kelly came back just then. She opened a COM link and reported, "There's access to the building-a ladder and a steel plate welded shut. We can burn through it." Nodding, John switched the COM channel to his entire team.

"We're going to assume that Red and Green Teams will remove the civilians from Cote d'Azur. We will proceed as planned." With a barely noticeable pause, he turned back to Kelly. "Break out the nuke and arm it."

Nodding, Kelly set the nuke and all the needed equipment down to start working. John was the one to remove the bonding strips from the nuke and attach it to the wall of the sewer. Once he was sure the thing was attached, he slipped the detonator key into a thin slot on the unit's face. The nuke was designed with no external indicators, only a tiny screen that winked on his HUD to indicate the nuke was armed. The device could only be detonated by remote control which would be a problem as it was in a sewer. However, John quickly rigged a ground-return transceiver on the pipes overhead. They'd set up another unit outside to relay their signal to the explosive.

Technically, at that point their mission was complete. However, John wanted to know what was so important about a history museum that Covenant troops were guarding it so fiercely. So when Kelly asked what their orders were he hesitated only a moment before making up his mind. "We're going in," he told his team. "Use your silencers. Don't engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary. This place is too hot. We'll just poke our noses in...see what they're up to and bug out." She would have laughed in his face at that order. Just poke their nose in indeed. Spartans didn't know how to 'just' do anything. With a vicious shake of his head, Chief mentally scolded himself. He couldn't figure out why his thoughts were circling around her so much. He needed to focus on staying alive and on his team. There were three lights blinking in acknowledgement on his HUD. They all trusted him completely. Now he hoped that he was worthy of their trust. The group quickly silenced their weapons before moving towards the entrance Kelly had located. Once there, Fred observed the welded plate they faced.

"Thermite paste already set up," he reported. John blinking in surprise, but gave the order to burn it. He wasn't going to ask how or why the entrance was already set up for them to break into. All four of them had to look away as the paste burned hot and bright, casting strange shadows into the sewers. Once it was done burning there was an arc of glowing red in the steel. Climbing the ladder, John put his shoulder to the plate and pushed. It popped free with a metallic snap. Sliding the plate slightly to the side, John fed the probe through the small opening and observed the room. It was clear. Flexing his legs, John nearly sprang out of the hole with his armor's response. His weapon was at the ready and he braced for enemy fire but there was none. Moving forward, he swept the room and decided they were in some sort of storage location. Behind him he could hear the others coming up through the floor.

" _Picking up motion sensor signals,"_ Kelly reported. John winced, having forgotten to check for that.

"Jam them."

" _Done. They maybe got a piece of us, though."_

"Spread out," John ordered quickly, already planning how to fight in the cramped room. "Get ready to jump back into the hole if this gets too hot. Otherwise, initiate the standard distract-and-destroy." The Spartans obeyed as the clatter of alien hooves sounded outside. By the time the door opened to reveal a pack of Jackals, the Spartans were all hidden. Cautious, the Jackals entered slowly in a rough "delta" formation. Just as they were about to reach John's location there was a clink of glass behind them. They all spun towards the noise, revealing their unshielded backs to John and his combat knife. Quick as an explosion, he burst from his hiding space. One Jackal had his combat knife sunk into his back while another had its head crushed from John's kick. The other Jackals turned towards him, only to fall as the other Spartans shot their unprotected back. In seconds, all the Jackals were on the floor, dead.

Quickly policing the bodies for weapons and tech, including shield generators, the Spartans gathered what they could before moving on. Kelly took point this time, leading the team up a circular stairwell. She paused at the doorway to the main floor before waving the others up. The main floor was devoid of life, a fact that set John's teeth on edge. The whole situation didn't feel right and Mendez had always told him to trust his instincts. Was this all a trap?

The team moved forward slowly, sweeping every inch of space with their gazes and weapons. For long moments there was nothing to be seen. Then Fred halted, seemingly shocked, before quickly waving John to move to his position. The two stood by a case of pinned butterflies and stared down at Fred's find.

It was a Jackal. A dead Jackal. The thing was crushed flat, the imprint of a large boot in place of where the alien's back should have been. John spotted blood-smeared footprints leading away from the Jackal and into the west wing. Quickly switching HUD view to infrared, he took a long look around. There was no heat to be seen in the nearby rooms.

Taking a deep breath, John glanced down at the dead alien once more. He'd never seen one-crushed like this one had been. Whatever had killed the Jackal had been massive and John wasn't entirely sure they could take it on. A memory tugged at the back of his mind, telling him that he should have an idea about the creature in question, but the tug was faint and he didn't have time to focus on it. He did, however, need to make a choice as the others were waiting on him. The infrared sensors hadn't shown any heat sources from the west wing so, with careful steps, he headed in that direction.

The west wing had scientific displays everywhere, reminding John of Deja's classroom on Reach. Another memory tugged at him, one of bright red hair and laughing green eyes and somehow connected to the creature he felt he should know, but he shook it away quickly. This wasn't the time or the place to remember his ghosts. Instead, he carefully made his way past the displays, senses straining to get a hint of danger before it hit them. He knew his friends were behind him, just as cautious. For their sake, he couldn't allow himself to be caught unaware.

Spotting an opening, John realized that there was a branch off the main wing. The archway bore the word _Geology_ , identifying what would be found within. Gesturing for the others to pause, John switched back to infrared. For the briefest of seconds, he saw a thin line register on the sensors, hot and bright, before everything shut down. Whatever that source was, it had overloaded his equipment.

Frustrated, John chewed on his lip. This mission was taking all the wrong turns it could. Yes, they'd managed to fulfill their mission parameters. The Marine group had been rescued, the nuke had been planted to destroy Cote d'Azur, they'd identified a new Covenant species, civilians had surely been rescued by now, and they'd even managed to capture some Covenant tech. They should have been able to call it a day.

But for possibly the first time that he could remember, John's orders had been very flexible and open-ended. That made him nervous. Without clear cut orders and expectations he floundered a bit. Was there something else command had wanted him to do? Had he already overstepped his bounds? There was no way of knowing, which left John in a very unstable mood. Still, he'd made the choice to enter the museum; his curiosity piqued by the way Covenant was protecting the human building. That damnable curiosity always managed to get him and the others into trouble. He would curse all curiosity to hell, but whenever the desire welled up he would remember the red-haired girl that had taught him to be curious. He couldn't curse her.

Now see where it got him and his team. Sure, this was certainly information gathering and ONI never turned their noses up at that, but he was risking the lives of his friends. Hopefully, it would not only be worth it but maybe they'd all manage to get out alive again. With that thought, John pulled out his fiber-optic probe, bent it slightly, and put it around the corner.

The room he was spying on was full of minerals. Sulfur, rubies, emeralds, quartz, not to mention all the stones he couldn't identify. What captured his attention, though, were the two creatures that stood to the side of the room, standing perfectly still. They were monstrous, easily towering over his own height of seven feet. Their armor was unlike any John had ever seen, reminding him of the cold metal of the Covenant ships and yet different at the same time. There were no eyes to be seen, just a slit in the armor. Large shields were attached to their left arms while massive weapons were literally melded into the right arms. Another violent tug from his memory, he knew these things, but he shoved it away. This wasn't the time!

Most of the Spartans didn't know it, but John was one of those people that got scared all the time. One could argue that he was always scared, which was technically false but he could understand why someone would think it. However, he was very careful to ensure that he never _appeared_ afraid. Anyone that ever saw or heard him would think that fear was a foreign concept to him. The fear never lasted long either. He would always acknowledge the emotion before discarding it, just as he had been trained. Yet the sight of the two behemoths, slowly moving amongst the minerals as they apparently looked for something, awakened a primal fear within John that he couldn't just discard.

That didn't mean he couldn't act, though. Slowly, he gave the signal for the other Spartans to stay alert and get ready. He waved Kelly and Fred forward, sending the female to the left side of the arch with James while Fred came up behind him. In the room, one of the creatures picked up a rock from one of the display cases and placed it within a red metal case. The other touched the control panel of what appeared to be a smaller version of a pulse laser turret. That had been the source of the infrared light that had shorted out John's equipment. A laser that powerful would have no problem sending a message into space itself, no doubt its purpose.

Fred and Kelly were in position, Fred standing slightly behind John while Kelly stood with James. John held up two fingers and made a sideways cut motion, gesturing towards the room. The acknowledgment lights blinked at him, reassuring him that they were ready for this. With a final deep breath, John sidestepped to the right, Fred moving with him. James and Kelly mirrored them perfectly. Then all four opened fire.

Despite having armor-piercing rounds, John watched in dismay as every bullet bounced off the alien's armor without leaving even a scratch. One of the aliens lifted his shield, covering its partner and the red case. Then it raised its right arm and pointed it at Kelly and James.

The next few seconds were very confusing for John. There was a flash of light that blinded him as all his sensors and equipment overloaded. A deafening explosion and wave of heat slammed into him, forcing him to brace himself in an attempt to not go flying backwards. He spent a full three seconds blinking, trying desperately to clear his vision. When he finally did he wished he hadn't.

Where Kelly and James had been there was only a burning crater, leaving nothing but charred stone and ash in its wake. Kelly had managed to move in time; she was crouched about five meters away, still firing at the creatures. There was no sign of James.

Then the other creature moved, pointing its weapon at John. He hit the button on the shield generator he'd taken from the dead Jackal and raised it. The movement was barely in time as the alien's weapon flashed. This time John did go flying, the force of the blast throwing him backwards with such force he felt like he was being shot from a cannon. He crashed through a wall and still managed to skid ten meters before slamming into another wall that happened to stop his movement. The shield generator was white-hot and actually melting from the heat. John quickly ripped it off, throwing it away from him as he got to his feet again. His mind was already rushing forward, struggling with this mystery. He'd finally identified the weapons as plasma blasts, but he'd never seen plasma bolts this powerful. At least, he'd never seen mobile ones this powerful. The Jackals had plasma cannons that were just about as powerful but they were stationary. Hopefully these mobile versions needed time to recharge, just like the stationary versions. If not, his team was doomed.

That damn memory tugged at him again, insisting that he knew something vital, but he shoved the thought away. The middle of a battle was not the time to take a trip down memory lane. Instead, he turned back to the hole he had made in the wall. The fear was still there, growing stronger with every second, but Kelly and Fred were still fighting. He needed to protect them and get them to safety before he could indulge in the luxury of feelings.

Kelly and Fred were circling the creatures, trying to find a weak spot in the armor but it was proving to be a fruitless hunt. They'd already emptied one clip each into the fight and were working on their second. Obviously, this tactic wasn't working. Maybe a Jackhammer missile at point-blank range would work; John was beginning to doubt that anything else would even make a dent. But then he remembered the monolith of pink quartz that had stood in the middle of the room.

"Switch to shredder rounds," he ordered over the COM, quickly changing his own ammunition. Once the new clip was loaded he opened fire...at the floor beneath the aliens. Understanding swept through Kelly and Fred as they copied his actions. One of the creatures raised its arm again, preparing to fire. The fear swept over John in a tidal wave but he kept his voice steady as he yelled, "Keep firing!"

Then the floor finally seemed to surrender. It creaked and buckled before finally giving way, dropping the aliens into the basement. "Quick!" John ordered, slinging his rifle over his shoulder as he raced to the quartz monolith and braced his back against it. "Push!" Kelly and Fred leaned their own weight against the stone and heaved with him. Even with all three pushing, the slab barely moved.

Then James was suddenly there, ramming into the stone beside them. His left arm had been burned away from the elbow down but he didn't give any signs of discomfort. His sudden addition jostled the slab closer to the edge, but there was a slight ridge around the hole, stopping their progress once more. The fear was almost all-consuming now, making John close his eyes in despair...only to pause when a new sound reached his ears. Running footsteps.

Before John could open his eyes again another body hit the space beside him, ramming into the quartz monolith at high speed. The power behind the hit pushed the slab over the final ridge, resulting in the monolith tilting dangerously before tumbling into the hole and landing with a crunch. Scrambling, John looked over the edge. He saw an armored leg on one side, an arm on the other. The arm was still moving, albeit slower and weaker than before. At least one of the creatures was still alive. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught John's attention and he turned to see what it was.

The red case was balanced on the edge of the hole, leaning dangerously inward. He turned slightly to Kelly, the fastest Spartan since forever, and yelled: "Grab it!" The words had barely left his mouth as the case fell...and Kelly leaped.

The case had not been secure, resulting in Kelly being able to grab the rock that had been placed within easily before landing with an almost effortless grace. The case tumbled into the hole without complaint as Kelly handed the rock to John.

The stone was a piece of granite with a few jewel-like inclusions. John was no expert on rocks but it seemed to be a very ordinary specimen. Certainly nothing special about it to reveal why Covenant wanted it. But they did, and that was enough of a reason to insure they didn't get it. So he stuffed the rock into his ammunition sack before kicking over the Covenant transmission beacon. Outside, he heard the sounds of Jackals and Grunts approaching. "Let's get out of here, Spartans," he ordered before belatedly remembering that final body that had slammed into the monolith. Whirling around he was confronted with the masked face of an ODST looking right at him. Questions instantly sprung to the tip of his tongue, but the ODST cut him off with a nod, indicating its acceptance of his order.

Covenant was getting closer, so John accepted the nod. He threw his arm around James to help the injured Spartan along. Kelly took the point, leading the way to the basement while Fred fell back, covering their escape. The ODST kept pace on James' unprotected side, weapon at the ready. The group raced down to the basement, making sure to give the pinned monsters a wide berth although the ODST's movements suggested confusion at the Spartan's actions. However, no complaints were spoken and the team managed to get to the storm drain and jump into the sewers. They jogged through the muck and grime, unwilling to slacken their pace until they finally cleared the drainage system and emerged in the rice paddies on the edge of the city.

Fred quickly rigged the ground-return relay to the pipes overhead and ran a crude antenna to a position where nothing would interfere with its signal. Meanwhile, the city was in uproar. Banshee's circled the city, their blue spotlights bathing the streets and buildings in light. The Grunts were going insane, barking and screaming to the point of incoherency. However, with all the focus being inside the city, the Spartans were able to move towards the coast, following the tree line. James' injury finally caught up with him and he collapsed twice along the way before finally falling unconscious. John quickly slung him over his shoulders but was surprised when the ODST took James' weapons and added them to its own load.

At one point the team stopped when a patrol of Grunts passed by. The creatures either didn't see them or didn't care, instead running mindlessly towards the city. John marked their behavior as odd but didn't dwell on the moment too long. Not with James injured and depending on him.

Finally, the group was only one click away from the rendezvous point. John opened the COM link. "Green Team Leader, we're on your perimeter and coming in. Signaling with blue smoke."

" _Ready and waiting for you, sir,"_ Linda replied, a note of relief in her voice. " _Welcome back."_ Before John had a chance to set off one of his smoke grenades, though, she continued. _"Sir, did you meet with General Faldon? She was told how you got into the city but we haven't heard from her since she went to follow."_ John glanced back at the ODST, finally noticing the command insignia on its shoulder. There was no name tag but he thought it safe to assume this was Faldon.

"We met up," he answered Linda tersely, popping his grenade before stepping into the clearing, his team following him. Relief swept over him as he saw that the Pelican was intact and safe. Corporal Harland and the other Marines were standing guard; the rescued civilians huddled inside, while Green and Red teams were spread about the nearby bushes and trees. Linda jogged towards them. She spotted James and motioned for her team to take him to the Pelican.

"Sir," she greeted. "All civilians on board and ready for liftoff." John nodded, wanting to relax and sit down, maybe even close his eyes and rest. But this was often the most dangerous time of every mission...the last few moments where you wanted to drop your guard. He always remembered that after all of Mendez's traps.

"Good," he answered instead. "Take one more look around the perimeter. Let's make double sure nothing followed us back."

"Yes, sir," Linda answered, instantly moving to obey the order. John watched her for a moment before movement had him turning towards Corporal Harland as the Marine approached and saluted, eyes wide with wonder."

"Sir?" the young Marine asked. "How did you do it? Those civilians said you got them out of the city-past an army of Covenant, sir. How?"

John regarded the Marine in confusion, even allowing himself to cock his head in a questioning manner. "It was our mission, Corporal," he answered, wondering how that hadn't been obvious. A sudden snort of laughter made both men turn towards the ODST, who wasn't bothering to hide its amusement.

"That's one way to put it," the ODST said, confirming that it was a female. John tilted his head again, inviting further comment but none was forthcoming. Instead, Linda returned with the report that the perimeter was clear, allowing the last of the Spartans to board the Pelican. James was awake again, his eyes swimming in pain, but he managed a salute before John motioned for Kelly to sedate him. The Pelican lifted into the air, allowing Cote d'Azur to be revealed for a moment before suddenly accelerating to full speed, heading into the atmosphere.

" _Sir,"_ the pilot said over the COM channel. _"We're getting multiple incoming radar contacts-about two hundred Banshees inbound."_

"The Spartan's have it covered, Lieutenant," the General said, surprising the Spartans on board. "You should probably prepare the ship for EMP and shock wave."

" _Yes,_ _General_ _Faldon,"_ came the reply. The ODST nodded towards John, the move somehow appearing to be condescending. Glaring, John activated his remote radio transceiver and keyed in the final fail-safe code before sending the code to the waiting antenna.

A third sun appeared on the horizon, blotting out the light of the system's stars. It cooled quickly, leaving a sky that was darkened with black clouds of dust. Cote d'Azur was no more.

The Pelican was oddly quiet, no one wanting to talk after the events on the planet. However, John couldn't stop the questions that were dancing on his tongue anymore as he turned towards the ODST. "Who are you?" he finally asked.

The soldier turned towards him; face still obscured by the helmet. "Brigadier General Faldon, commanding officer of the 105th ODSTs. It's good to see you again, Master Chief." John blinked in confusion, confident that the movement was hidden behind his HUD. Except, it apparently wasn't, as became apparent when the Helljumper tilted her own head. "You've forgotten, haven't you? I was one of the cadets you rescued from Corbulo."

The memory fell into place, along with the knowledge of those creatures in the museum. Groaning, John allowed his helmet to strike the wall behind him. How could he have forgotten those things?! "Ah, you remember now, I see," the General continued, laughter in the edge of her voice. "I was wondering why you didn't shoot those two Hunters in the gap of their armor, rather than drop a several ton stone on them." John hit his head against the wall a couple more times, calling himself a fool in every language he knew, before looking back to the officer. Her name was dancing just beyond his reach. He knew he knew it. Cadet Lasky had mentioned it at least once.

"You're-Kaine, right?" he asked, relieved when he was answered with a nod. "Glad to see you stayed in the UNSC after Corbulo." For a moment he thought that the hidden face of Kaine Faldon was marred by a frown but he dismissed the thought. He hardly knew the female; there was no way he could guess her expressions when he couldn't see his face. The only person he'd managed to do that with was the girl with green eyes that he refused to think about anymore. Desperate to fix things, he scrambled for another topic.

"Why were you on Sigma Octanus Four?" he asked before wincing. Never let it be said that Spartans were good at small talk. Indeed, Faldon's body language as she looked at John indicated slight exasperation.

"I was ordered," she answered dryly before tilting her head a little. The movement reminded John sharply of someone else and for a moment he could almost see red hair. "Well, sort of. The order was given for an ODST to land on the planet and aide the Spartans when word reached us that you had rescued civilians. From that point, I volunteered." John waited for her to expound upon her statement but she lapsed back into silence.

"How did you find us?" he asked, wanting to keep the discussion moving for some reason. The General regarded him quietly for a long moment before shrugging.

"I landed near the Pelican," she answered flippantly. "The Marines in the area explained the situation and the Spartan called Linda explained where your team was. I chose to follow you since you seemed to be at the most risk. Although I admit, I wasn't expecting to find you as I did. I'd always assumed that Spartans had a little more finesse than squishing their enemies with rocks."

“We do whatever works,” John told her testily, not liking the hidden rebuke in her voice. “We were working on it.” Another flash of red and green in his mind's eye. She'd always joked that the phrase 'Working on it' should be the Spartan motto. The words usually brought a smile to the face of any Spartan that heard it, but this time it only brought the Chief pain. Nevertheless, he could almost see the bitter smile on Faldon's face as she turned her HUD away, letting the light strike the material in such a way that he could vaguely see through it.

The Pelican shook slightly as they passed through the atmosphere into space. The _Leviathan_ was before them, showing damage from the space battle but otherwise remarkably intact. Conversation ceased as the dropship docked with the cruiser, settling easily in the hangar. As soon as they were secure they could feel the ship's engine's roar to life as the cruiser accelerated into space. John and Faldon waited for the civilians and Marines to disembark before following the other Spartans. The area was chaotic but emptying fast as most personnel were rushing back to their stations. In minutes, the only humans in the hangar were the Spartans and Faldon.

"This is eerily familiar," the ODST drawled, her body slightly tense. "If it's all the same to you, Master Chief, I'm gonna head out." She didn't wait for an answer, spinning on her heels and moving for the exit at a speed a bit faster than most people would use. By the time John had his thoughts in a vague order, she was gone.

“That was weird,” Kelly muttered, a hint of irritation coloring her voice. “Anyone have an idea of what just happened?”

“She's an ODST and an officer,” Will drawled back. “I'd be worried if she _did_ make sense. Come on; let's drop our gear off before we need to go report.”

“Agreed,” John finally sighed, shaking his head in an attempt to get those damn memories to fade away again. “Fred, give me your stuff; you go sit check on James in medical.” The larger Spartan knew how worried his teammate had to be; James had been his partner back in training and the two had always stayed close. Losing...Klare...had hurt them both. He wouldn't keep them apart for longer than he had to.

“Thanks, Chief,” his friend sighed, throwing the sign for a smile John's way before quickly jogging towards the exit. The other Spartans went through a different set of doors, quickly dropping their gear off in their temporary quarters before making their way through the bowels of the ship to where the resident ONI agent would be waiting for them. They were quietly taking bets on how long the debriefing would last, what with the discovery of two new alien species, when John's COM suddenly activated. “ _Chief! Get to medical, now!_ ”

“Fred?” the Spartan called, but his COM had already shut back down as the connection was severed. Not wasting time to tell the others to follow him, the Master Chief broke into a sprint, calling up his mental map of the ship and quickly finding the fastest route to medical. They had to dodge several hapless soldiers, but they were all quite practiced in evasion, so it was barely a minute later that they were bursting through the doors. It only took a second to realize where the trouble was coming from. Every person in medical, from the patients to the doctors, were as far away from the open door of a private room as they could get and John could hear James yelling in absolute fury. Clearly, something was very wrong.

“Kelly, clear the wing!” the lead Spartan yelled, not having the time to deal with everyone as he scrambled towards the room. Stepping inside, he could only stop and stare, trying to understand what was happening. James, arm freshly bandaged and mostly clean, was nearly launching himself off the bed, screaming angry words at a corner that looked like it had been hit with a very large hammer. Fred was keeping his brother on the bed, but just barely, and he had a couple new bruises that had not been present when he'd returned from the planet. “James!” Chief barked, trying to cut through the yelling and only barely succeeding. “What's gotten into you?!”

“She lied to us!” his friend roared, eyes nearly spitting fire as he pointed at the corner. “Twenty-seven damn years, and she'd been alive this entire time!” Glancing at the corner, John finally spotted the body curled up, though as he watched it slowly started to get to its feet. It only took a second to see the ODST insignia and red hair, indicating that he was watching General Faldon, but before he could berate the injured Spartan for striking a superior officer, she glanced up and he caught her eyes. The same deep silver he remembered from Corbulo, but different somehow. Maybe it was because James was still screaming, maybe it was because those damn memories had been plaguing him all day, but John suddenly just _knew_. And that terrified him.

"Who are you?" he breathed, unable to understand what he was seeing. Silver eyes met his, roiling with some emotion he couldn't understand. There was pain there, emotional and physical, as well as regret. His mind was roaring at him, telling him that he knew those eyes, even if they were a different color.

"You know," she answered lowly, voice hard but regret still danced on the edges, slicing through the yells of the other Spartans as they tried to restrain the furious James. Shakily, John shook his head, even as his mind replaced her cold silver eyes with warm emerald ones. "Yes you do, Master Chief." Another shake of his head; this one seeming almost desperate. "You know me, John!"

"You're not Klare!" John yelled, not caring that his outburst cut through the other Spartans as they all spun to look at the pair. "Klare died! She didn't survive the augmentations and we shot her body into space! You! Are! Not! Klare!" Harsh silence fell upon the room, trying to crush everyone within as they all held their breaths.

"Yes, she is." Every gaze shot towards Fred, unable to believe what he had said. "Kaine Faldon, the adopted daughter of Eric Faldon, is Klare. She told me all about it...years ago."

Furious, John drew breath to yell at the raven haired man but abruptly froze when a strong hand fell upon his shoulder. "You can be angry at me," Faldon said, her voice hard and tight and how could he not have noticed that she spoke just like Klare had? Even with all the years that she had refused to speak to them, John could remember her strange little accent. Could remember how he would tease her about it and how she would tease him about his sweet-tooth as payback. "Hell, you can be furious with me. I deserve it. But I swear, John, if you take your anger out on Fred I'll make you wish that I _had_ died during the augmentations." The hand squeezed in warning and he could feel it through the armor. Only someone with Spartan strength could do that.

"Explain. Now!" he growled out, trying to control his anger. Slowly, the hand on his shoulder applied pressure until he was looking at her face. Silver eyes searched his, apparently figuring out how to tell him all that had happened. In the end she just sighed and started talking. She told him everything. How she'd found Vincent, what she'd discovered before the final augmentations, the attempt ONI had made on her life, how she'd escaped and ended up on Corbulo, and what she'd done with her life since. She was fully aware of how the other Spartans were watching and listening but paid them no mind. They were still her friends, her family, but if they rejected her it wouldn't be the end of her world. She had the ODSTs now and they were family too. John was different. Even after all these years, she couldn't explain the relationship she had with him. Couldn't put words to why it was so different from her relationship with anybody else. It just was. She would be fine if the other Spartans rejected her, but if John did she felt like her whole existence would end.

"That's everything," she finished, taking a deep breath. "Like I said, you can be angry with me if you want. You can hate me, although I hope you won't, but I swear that's everything. No more secrets, no more lies." She warily searched his gaze again, not liking how closed off it was. John wasn't the type of person to hide his emotions. He always wore his heart on his sleeve, a trait that made him a good leader for the Spartans. The only time he kept his emotions hidden was when they were so powerful he didn't think he could control them.

"You abandoned us," he finally said, his voice strained. "You turned your back on everyone. How could you betray us like that?" Despite herself, Kaine felt a rush of anger at his words.

"Betray?" she scoffed, finally releasing her grip on his shoulder as she took a step back. "I didn't betray anyone!"

"You betrayed us all!" John countered, rage finally sparking in his eyes. "You betrayed the Spartans, Chief Mendez, Dr. Halsey; you betrayed the entire UNSC-"

"The UNSC betrayed us first!" she cut in, matching his rage easily. "They lied to us from our first day! Or don't you remember Dr. Halsey standing before seventy-five terrified children and telling them that they would all make it? Halsey and ONI knew that some of us would die during the augmentations! Did you even pay attention to all the crap they put your body through?! Thirty-four, John. That's how many of us survived. The UNSC betrayed the twenty-nine of us that died because of them! The UNSC betrayed the dozen of us that were damaged so badly by the augmentations that they couldn't continue with a normal life! Tell me, where are Mark and Fhajad? Where are Kirk and Rene and Serin? Their whole lives were ruined and do you want to know what ONI said about what happened to them? 'Acceptable losses.' That's how ONI and the UNSC classified the twelve mutated and twenty-nine dead Spartans. We were numbers and weapons to them, nothing more."

Chest heaving, Kaine allowed the echoes of her voice to fade. There was no anger in John's gaze anymore, but her own anger was pulsing in her ears, drowning out any other sound. She would have launched into another tirade if she had not seen Fred out of the corner of her eye. He looked...tired. So tired. For his sake, and his alone, she pulled her temper back under control. "I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you," she said quietly. "I'm sorry that I kept the truth from the Spartans and Chief Mendez. But those are the only things I'm sorry for. If I ever have the chance to change my choices, I will not take it." Suddenly tired herself, she looked in John's eyes one last time, letting him see everything she was feeling. "I'm glad you're still sheltered enough to not see the corruptness that surrounds you. I sincerely hope you'll all die before you learn just what sort of people you're fighting for. Because I've seen them when they think nobody's watching and I can't forget it. I can't forget the truth." Looking down, she shrugged despondently. "Now go, I'm sure the ONI officers are wondering where the hell you all are." Before John could dredge up the words that were lodged in his chest, she had spun on her heel and was striding away, sliding between her siblings to quietly slip out of the deserted medical wing. No one followed her.

"We tell ONI nothing," John finally said before turning towards the door. The other Spartans that had gone to the planet fell in behind him, each one in quiet contemplation. None were entirely sure they understood Faldon's reasons for leaving, but it wasn't their place to understand. Master Chief had given them the order to withhold the information from ONI and they would obey. For them, life was that simple.

For the ODST that was curled up in her quarters, wondering when the hell her life had gone so drastically wrong, life was much more complicated.

 


	6. Why Didn't I Kill You?

**Why Didn't I Kill You?**

Time: 1243\

July 19, 2552\

Reach

It was training alone that kept John from tearing the ONI officer's head off. Being the leader of the Spartans meant that John had learned how to handle all different kinds of officers, but this one would not shut up! The mission on Sigma Octanus Four had ended over twenty-six hours ago, but the Spartans were still going through debriefings. Fred hypothesized that all the meetings were because of the two new Covenant species. Kelly just huffed that ONI never made sense. However, all the Spartans knew to leave John alone right now. The ONI officer seemed to be the only human that couldn't feel the murderous rage rolling off the head Spartan. Or maybe he was just the only human that didn't care.

"Master Chief, I asked you a question," the officer said, drawing John out of his thoughts. The older man didn't even flinch as he was subjected to the Spartan's glare. "I realize that you have other things on your mind, Master Chief, but the sooner you let me finish this debrief the sooner you can move on to those other things." Clenching his teeth against the exasperated sigh he could feel building, John nodded reluctantly. As annoying as ONI was, he knew that he and the other Spartans would be released eventually. Once they were, he could finally seek her out.

"My apologies, Major Sullivan," John said when he finally had control over his voice once more. "My mind is preoccupied and after twelve debriefings I'm having a hard time believing that you will say anything I have not already heard." Inwardly, John winced as he knew the other Spartans in the room were doing. That was a little blunter than he should have been.

However, the officer just nodded. "Yes, I can understand how tedious this must be for all of you." He fell quiet for a moment, deep in thought, before his expression brightened. "I know, let's go find some new scenery. A change of pace will do us all some good." Normally John would have been aghast at the idea of discussing classified information in an insecure environment, but he was tired of feeling like the walls were closing in on him. He nodded as every Spartan got to their feet, quickly putting their HUDs back on. Even now, it was highly discouraged for any Spartan to show their faces outside, for fear that they would be identified by enemies. After all, the Insurrection was still alive and well.

Outside, the base was bustling with activity. The UNSC was preparing for a major offensive against known Covenant targets, hoping to pull some of the heat off the inner colonies. Soldiers of every branch rushed around in chaos, sparking several confrontations. However, the Spartans were given a large berth, subjected to looks ranging from distrust to worship. It was business as usual for John so he chose to ignore the other humans, allowing his mind to wrestle with his one consuming thought. What was he going to do about-?

"General Faldon!" Startled, John jerked around to see the ONI officer beaming as he gestured wildly. Across the landing strip was Klare, looking in their direction. Her expression was conflicted as her gaze flicked between the ONI officer and the Spartans. However, as the officer gave another excited call of her name, John watched her sigh and start trotting towards them. Another ODST fell into step behind her, face hidden behind the helmet. Considering both were wearing combat gear, John thought it safe to assume they had come from a training exercise.

As soon as Klare was close enough, she was grabbed in a hug by the ONI officer. John watched, fighting his jealousy, as she allowed a smile to cross her face. "Hello, Sully," she said. "It's been too long." The two stepped apart, smiling at each other. Then Klare blinked and John could see a wall fall behind her eyes. "When did you join ONI?"

"A few years ago," Major Sullivan, Sully, replied with a shrug. "They got tired of trying to catch me when I hacked into their systems." That got a laugh which John tried not to resent. For the flash of a second, he wondered if it was worth it to ever speak to Klare again. She'd clearly moved beyond the Spartans. Then she glanced his way and he could see that the laughter was not in her eyes. She was pretending, like every other Spartan had to do.

"I suppose ONI has some intelligence after all then," Klare said flippantly, smirking with her mouth only. "Which also means you're probably working right now. I won't take you from your duties any longer." She took a step back, but before she could actually leave Sully leaned forward, eyes bright with excitement.

"Oh no, you're not taking me from anything," he insisted. "The Spartans and I were just getting a change of scenery so that we could finish the debriefing. We were heading to the chow hall; why don't you join us? You were on Sigma Octanus Four, after all. You should be there." Klare's eyes flashed, a clear warning to her true emotions, but the spark was gone before Sully could see it. Instead, he just smiled as she reluctantly nodded. She turned away for a moment, giving the other ODST orders. A landing Pelican prevented John from hearing the words, but the soldier nodded and left with a salute. Turning back to Sully, Klare gestured for him to lead. He did so happily, chatting the whole time and unaware that no one was listening to him.

John watched Klare out of the corner of his eyes. He wondered how she'd managed to hide as long as she had when it was so obvious she was Spartan trained. She wasn't as big as most of the Spartans, wasn't as tall or muscled. However, she was still larger than most humans. John had looked at her file and knew she had a reputation for doing the impossible. How had no one discovered that she was Spartan enhanced? She even walked like a Spartan.

It wasn't until they passed a group of Marines that John found the answer to his question. Before his eyes, Klare changed. She managed to slouch while keeping her back straight, making herself appear smaller. The change in her stride was subtle, but suddenly she was walking like any other human, using movement that wasn't strictly necessary for her forward progress. She smiled and laughed and didn't look even vaguely like a Spartan.

"I think we're seeing General Faldon right now," Fred said over the Spartan's personal COM. Sounds of agreement filtered through while John just nodded. This was Kaine Faldon. Not his Klare.

"Is something wrong, Master Chief?" John snapped back to reality to find Kaine glaring at him. Anyone else would think she was reacting like any ODST would when confronted by a Spartan. John, however, saw the warning in her eyes. She was acting like an ODST. He was not acting like a Spartan.

"Just ensuring that you have recovered from Sigma Octanus, sir," he answered, creating the illusion of distance between them. Or maybe the illusion was real and he was simply acknowledging it. Either way, he saw her subtle nod before she looked away. He reluctantly did the same when he realized they were at the chow hall.

Long gone was the professional, serious ONI officer that John had met a couple hours ago. Now he watched in morbid shock as Sully nearly skipped through the halls, chatting happily with Kaine and not minding when she blatantly ignored him. A question rippled through John's mind about what could have possibly made the two such good friends when they seemed so incompatible. "I'm so hungry I could bite the butt out of a monkey," Sully announced, startling John back into actually paying attention. Yes, the serious officer was gone.

"What kind of code is that?" Kelly asked, a grumble in the back of her tone. Kaine's mouth twitched slightly, no doubt remembering how horrible Kelly had been with codes. John's own lips started to turn up before he remembered where he was.

"That's no code," Kaine remarked dryly, her lips already back in a straight line. "That's just Sully." The man in question shocked all the Spartans when he stuck his tongue out at her. Some actually stumbled over each other when her only response was to actually grab his tongue and pull it. "I told you not to do that," she remarked lightly, ignoring his irritated sounds. As odd as the thought was, John could not prevent a tiny smile. His Klare was still inside Kaine Faldon. He could see her in moments like this.

Kaine released Sully's tongue when they stepped into the actual dining area of the chow hall. Their progress through the food line was slowed as many of the cooks took the time to acknowledge Kaine and chat with her. She answered everyone politely, but every Spartan could see the irritation clinging to the back of her voice. Fred actually edged away from her when one cook didn't seem to understand how annoyed the redhead was becoming. However, the group managed to get through the line without anybody dying and they all took their seats. Sully continued to chatter quite happily but he eventually realized that the table was almost buckling from all the tension in the air. Quietly, he surveyed the group and noticed just how tense and awkward everyone was.

"I think you all have some unfinished business," he finally said, getting to his feet once more. He met Kaine's gaze and smiled. "I may be an ONI officer but that's more because I love knowing everything I shouldn't know and less because I actually believe in their cause or feel any loyalty to them. My friends come first. So I'll give you all the time you clearly need and return later." Kaine returned his smile and John could see that the happiness finally did touch her eyes. Bowing slightly, Sully turned and walked away, leaving deathly silence behind him.

Kaine was the one to break that silence. "If any of you glared any harder I'd probably self-combust," she grumbled, leaning back in her seat. Another subtle change swept through her and she was Klare once more. They all might as well have been back in training as she glared at them for trying to make her speak. "If you have anything to say or ask, I suggest you do so now. It's dangerous for me to be around you." That statement should have been insulting, but John just acknowledged it for the fact that it was. ONI would not hesitate to kill Klare for escaping the Spartan program. No matter how many years passed.

"We just want to understand," Kelly said tightly, leaning forward when it became clear that John couldn't or wouldn't take charge. "How could you leave everything behind? Your training. Your future. Us."

"You speak as though it was easy," Klare snarled, still sounding like the wildcat that she had often pretended to be as a child. "If I'd wanted to leave you behind I wouldn't have let you ever learn that I was alive. Hell, you were the only reason I had to stay as long as I did. But since you clearly need things to be laid out for you, listen carefully. I left because I had no other choice. I never wanted to be a Spartan; you all know that. I hated the lifestyle and what they were doing to us. So I don't believe I was leaving behind my future. If anything, I was finding my future again. _My_ future, not the future the UNSC chose for me. Also, if you actually looked at my file, you'd realize that I never abandoned my training. I still fight, plan, and function like a Spartan. It's a part of who I am and I recognize that. As for leaving you behind-." Her voice trailed off and she looked away from them, her jaw tense in anger. However, they could all hear the unspoken words.

_How could you think that was even possible?_

"It still doesn't make any sense," Linda said quietly, shaking her head though her eyes were confused rather than angry. "Why didn't you ever try to contact us?"

Klare threw her hands up in frustration, nearly growling. "You make it sound so bloody simple when you know damn well that it's not. Problem number one: I was _hiding._ No one was supposed to know about me. If I had contacted any of you would you have honestly allowed me to continue outside the program? No. You would have insisted that I couldn't know what I was doing and told someone else so that I'd be forced to come back. Problem number two: you're _Spartans_. The ultimate secret weapon of the UNSC. Name one person outside of ONI and the UNSC leaders that could have contacted you after the augmentations. Besides, you could have found me if you'd just done a little searching. My files would have made it clear enough to anyone who knew what they were looking for."

"We were classified so far above top secret we couldn't stick our noses out the window without ONI ordering us back inside, and you took advantage of that," Fred lashed out, clearly tired of holding back his frustration. However, he still quailed under the glare that Klare subjected him to. She held her tongue for a long moment before releasing her breath, and most likely her anger, in a long hiss.

"Couldn't have been too highly classified," she remarked in a condescending tone. "Sully hacked into Blue Team's visual COMs back when he was a cadet at Corbulo." Another of John's silent questions was answered. He could remember Sully now; he was the cadet that had been shot. Now he knew why Klare and Sully were such good friends. No one could go through Corbulo and not come out closer to the other survivors. Then he jumped out of his musings as Klare's eyes snapped to his. "You've been amazingly quiet, Master Chief. I'm getting worried. What's on your mind?" John debated his answers and chose to go with the pure truth.

"At the final augmentations, I didn't know I was going to lose you so I didn't bother trying to memorize what you looked like. Now I know that I may never get a chance to see you again, so I'm correcting my mistake." Silence rushed back in after his final word faded away, leaving everyone reeling. Some of the Spartans looked away in shame, while others seemed to realize what he meant. All Spartans had suffered from the deaths of their brothers and sisters after the augmentations. Most hadn't realized that they were getting a second chance with Klare.

Klare herself didn't outwardly react. John could see a shift in her eyes but that was just because no one knew her better. He didn't interrupt as she worked through her mental musings, knowing that she would talk when she was ready. But the spark that flashed through her eyes warned him that he might not like what she was about to say. "John, do you still have your ring?"

* * *

 

Time: Varying\

February 16, 2525\

Reach

_Sighing, John fell back onto his bunk. His muscles screamed at him, not happy about how he was treating them, but he ignored their protests. He had other things to worry about, far more important than some sore muscles._

_The date of the final augmentations was getting close. Only three more weeks. Dr. Halsey had explained the procedure and what would be happening, so John wasn't worried about the actual augmentations. He was worried about what would happen after. Namely, he was worried about Klare. After six years, the fact that Klare didn't talk wasn't a big deal to the Spartans. She made herself very clear without words. However, that was only because the Spartans knew her so well. John knew that outside the Spartans, she would suffer._

_The problem was that John also knew that the Spartans would be split up. Chief Mendez had been very blunt about that. The Spartans were the UNSC's ultimate weapon and they would go wherever they were ordered. There would be no guarantee that they would always be working with other Spartans. So John was left with the task of figuring out how to ensure that Klare always had at least one of their siblings. He'd been wrestling with the problem for a couple months and had only come up with one solution. However, he was reluctant to choose that option. Not because he thought it was distasteful but because he thought that Klare would murder him if he ever mentioned it._

_Sighing, John rolled onto his side. Klare was already on her bunk, laying flat on her back. He knew she was hurting as much as he was. Mendez swore up and down that the tank they'd been using as a prop hadn't been loaded but it was difficult to believe him when the thing had fired live ammo. If John and Klare hadn't reacted as quickly as they had, bracing the wall they'd been using for cover up, their group would have been killed. In the end, they'd all passed the simulation and gotten out alive, but John and Klare could hardly move while their backs were black and blue. Mendez had given them both permission to return to their bunks as soon as they were done eating. They were the only humans in the barracks; the rest of the Spartans had evening classes, so there was no better time for him to pitch his idea. Hopefully, he'd still be alive when the others came back._

_Groaning, John got to his feet and walked the short distance to fall on Klare's bunk. She grunted at him but shuffled to the side to give him some room. They lay in comfortable silence for a few minutes before John turned his head to look at her. “How are you feeling?” he asked. “Getting any better?” She shrugged and signaled to him that she was 'Working on it', bringing a tired smile to his_ _face. Maybe they actually should make that the official Spartan motto. They all used it often enough. "Three weeks until the augmentations," he said quietly. Klare huffed, giving him a tired acknowledgment. "Think we can survive that long with this mysterious enemy trying to kill us?" A shrug this time, followed by a pained hiss. Klare had made it very clear that she was convinced that the person who had ordered that attack on the Spartans when they were eight was the one targeting them now. The tank wasn't the first dangerous obstacle they had faced over the last year._

_Turning back to look at the ceiling, John focused on Klare's breathing. It was soft and steady, just as they'd been taught to help handle pain. "Chief Mendez said that we will probably be split up most of the time." This time Klare sighed and kicked him lightly in the leg. She wanted him to get to the point. "I know it will be hard on you, being surrounded by people who won't understand your silent communication like we do." This time Klare shifted, making John wonder what she was embarrassed about. However, she hadn't lashed out yet so he was going to carry on. "I've come up with a plan to keep you with me all the time so you won't have to worry about that." He could feel her sub-vocal chuckle shake the bunk and smiled. She was in a good mood then. His chance of survival just went up. "We should get married."_

_Klare sat up so fast John couldn't remember actually seeing her move. She was laying at his side and then a fraction of a second later she was sitting up, staring at him like he was a monster as she perched on the extreme edge of the bunk. Any normal person would have realized she didn't like the idea and hurried to assure her that they weren't serious. John wasn't a normal person. He decided that since Klare hadn't just killed him, she was open to the idea, so he continued to explain. "I know it would be strange, marrying at fourteen and all, but I really think it's the best option. The UNSC doesn't like splitting up married couples. This way, we'd be sure to stay together. Then I can translate your words or commands to the other soldiers." He paused as Klare shook her head violently but she still hadn't tried to murder him. In his mind, that meant she was considering. However, he needed an answer, not just a reaction. So, though his muscles complained, he got off the bed and knelt on one knee, ignoring her incredulous look. "Klare, will you marry me?" he asked. Later that night, laying in his bunk and nursing his bloody scalp, he admitted that he should have been expecting the rifle strike to the head. Nevertheless, he still believed that marrying Klare was the only way he could protect her. He wasn't going to give up._

_A couple days later during breakfast, John watched Klare closely. He knew she always put salt on her eggs, one of the few luxuries the teens still had from their old lives. It had been difficult, sneaking out of the barracks last night, but John had gotten everything ready for today. Klare had been avoiding him since his proposal so he'd found a different way. Right on time, Klare reached for the salt shaker and tried to use it. However, no salt came out. Confused, she shook it harder with the same result. Looking curious but not suspicious, she took off the top of the shaker and spotted the paper that was blocking the salt. Taking it out, she unfolded the scrap that held John's marriage proposal. A blush instantly swept her face as she glanced up sharply and glared at him. She made sure he saw her tear the note into tiny pieces and throwing them away before replacing the salt cap and continuing her breakfast. John returned to his as well, not concerned by her refusal. The salt was just the first of many attempts he had planned for the day._

_Most people would call John insane for continuing to ask when Klare had made it obvious she didn't want to marry him. What they didn't know is that Klare had once confessed to John that, when it came to personal matters that involved other people's thoughts in regard to her, she never took them seriously. Her self-esteem was easily the lowest of the Spartans, which was the main reason her sister had been originally chosen over her. She saw nothing special about herself. So when people said she was pretty or smart or funny or a good leader, she didn't take their words to heart. She thought they had ulterior motives. It had taken her forever to truly accept that John really wanted to be her friend. So he knew why she was rejecting him. She thought he wasn't serious about wanting to marry her. But he was. Dead serious. All he had to do was prove it to her. And with his plan, he knew that by the final_ _formation she would realize just how serious he was._

_As the day went by, the marriage proposals became more and more public. The stones in the training yard had been rearranged to spell the words, 'Will you marry me?' Luckily, the trainers all assumed it was just a prank as, apparently, the rest of the base was in the middle of a prank war. Only Klare and John knew the truth and John had to suffer through Klare's glare for the whole morning routine. In Deja's class, one of her projections suddenly switched to show the proposal. The rest of the Spartans found the prank hilarious as Deja attempted to fix the projection. Klare was the only one not laughing, choosing instead to sink into her seat and hope that no one noticed her blush. At the playground, when Klare finished her run the PA system turned on and a very loud voice said, "Congratulations! You just won your own dream wedding!" Later, people would say that the reason Klare had chased John around, attacking him with a steel pole, must have been because he laughed the loudest. Then at the range, Klare got a perfect score. The AI that was tracking their scores announced that Klare was Cupid for the day and could make people fall in love just by shooting them. It was only because of his fast reflexes that John avoided the hail of bullets that followed that announcement, once more running away from the irate girl. The trainers and other Spartans were falling over themselves laughing, not a one thinking that all these 'pranks' were real. However, John and Klare's teams were wondering why the two seemed to have been targeted._

_Then came final formation. Klare was super jumpy, constantly twitching and looking over her shoulder. There had been no proposal at dinner or the evening classes. Everyone was betting on when the next prank would occur, thinking that it would be the best yet. She also thought another proposal was coming, but personally, she thought it would be the most embarrassing. So when she spotted John over by the barracks, she ran straight over. She was just in time to see him finish attaching some wires to a machine. Now that she was close enough she could see the large banner that was rolled up on the side of the barracks, out of view from the field. It looked like one of those signs that would unroll and reveal the message, and she was pretty sure she knew what it would say._

" _Klare," John said, finally spotting her and getting to his feet. However, before he could continue she held up a hand, cutting off his words. Her eyes were hard and spitting fire until she suddenly sighed and slumped. Tiredly, she gestured towards the banner, a questioning look on her face. There were many ways the movement could be interpreted but John felt sure of his words when he said, "It says, 'Klare, will you marry me?'" Klare shot him a look that seemed to say, 'Of course it does,' but just shook her head. There was something different in her movement, though, something that prevented John from thinking she was refusing him again. She seemed more resigned._

_Looking into John's eyes, Klare gave the signal for 'Repeat'. Cautiously, not sure he should hope, John asked one more time, "Klare, will you marry me?" And he beamed when she signed her answer._

' _I will.'_

* * *

 

_Time: 2300\_

_March 8, 2525\_

_Reach_

_The night was far from young when John finally crawled out of his bunk. They'd be leaving for the final augmentations in seven hours. He and Klare and planned this night carefully, aware that if something went wrong they would not have a second chance. So John was relieved when he spotted Klare also awake and up, waiting for him by the hidden exit. The Spartans had used the ancient crawl space to escape the barracks several times and the adults had never caught on. It was their only chance tonight. Pausing to see if their teams had forgotten about tonight, he smiled when he saw they were absent. Moving silently, he reached Klare and they crawled through the crawl space together. Outside they found their teams waiting for them, everyone tense with excitement. Carefully, using every trick they had learned over the last eight years, the six teens made their way across the compound. Two or three close calls later, they finally reached the base chapel. The chaplain was inside, waiting for_ _them._

" _Hello," he greeted pleasantly, nodding to the six teenagers. "Chief Mendez told me you'd be coming." John winced as Klare glared at him. Hadn't he told her that Mendez was in on his plan? After all, Mendez was the one who was going to give the signal to unroll the banner at final formation. "He also said you didn't have a lot of time. If the couple would stand before me, the witness' may take their seats." Silently, the teens split. John and Klare took their places before the chaplain, standing easily beside each other. Their teams took the four seats available, watching soberly. They were aware of the risks this wedding would entail._

_The chaplain was not as aware. He'd seen the teenagers around the base, of course. Who hadn't? All the soldiers knew that a special corps of soldiers were being trained on the base, though most weren't sure if the group was made up of real teens or just very young looking people. However, no one knew just how secret the teenagers were supposed to be. So no, the chaplain wasn't aware of how many military regulations he was breaking by wedding these two soldiers. That didn't mean that he couldn't feel the tension in the room and understand that time was of the essence._

" _As I know you're short on time, I chose the shortest ceremony," he informed the couple before him. They both nodded silently, eyes bright and hard. "Then let's begin. John, do you take Klare as your wife? Do you swear to love her, protect her, support her, cherish her, and guide her? Do you swear to stand before her during times of struggle to shield her from harm, to stand beside her in times of confusion to guide her, and to stand behind her in times of difficulty to support her? Do you swear that she will be first in your life, second to none, and that you will treat her with the love, reverence, and respect that are due to her?"_

" _I do," John replied, his voice ringing with confidence and sincerity. For a moment, Klare glanced at him with a veiled thought in her eyes. In that one moment, it had sounded like he truly loved her._

_Nodding, the chaplain turned to Klare. "Klare, do you take John as your husband? Do you swear to love him, protect him, support him, cherish him, and guide him? Do you swear to stand before him in times of struggle to shield him from harm, to stand beside him in times of confusion to guide him, and to stand behind him in times of difficulty to support him? Do you swear that he will be first in your life, second to none, and that you will treat him with the love, reverence, and respect that are due to him?"_

_Turning to look John in the eyes, Klare made no response for several long seconds. John simply gazed back, knowing that she was looking for something. Apparently, she found it, as she eventually nodded and signed, 'I do.'_

" _Then by the power granted to me and in the presences of these witness', I declare you husband and wife. You may exchange rings." A flash of confusion swept across Klare's face until John reached into his pocket and pulled out two rings. They were both very simple; no more than silver bands. Yet they carried an elegance that Klare was hard tasked to put into words. Silently, John slid the thinner band onto Klare's finger and gave her the thicker band so that she could slide it onto his. Only once that was done did they clasp hands and smile. For better or worse, they were married._

 _The moment was shattered as their teammates clapped, Sam coming up to slap John on the back. Laughing, Klare accepted James' hug and rolled her eyes as Fred asked why he hadn't been the best man. Then the chaplain was drawing the other four teens away, stating that they still needed to sign the marriage licenses. Left alone, Klare looked at John in curiosity and tapped the ring on her finger. Knowing what she was asking, he smiled gently as he took her hand and rubbed the ring with his thumb. "They came from Chief Mendez," he told her quietly, ignoring her shock. "I told him about my idea the night after I proposed for the first time. Actually, I sort of had to since he wanted to know why I had a scalp wound that hadn't been there when he sent us to bed." At least Klare had the decency to look sheepish about that. "I don't know if you knew this but you've always been the Chief's favorite. I don't think any of us could have gotten away with half the stunts you've pulled. So when he heard my_ _plan and why I wanted to marry you, he offered to help. After you said yes I went to ask him where I could buy some rings. Instead, he gave me these."_

_John trailed off, staring into space. Klare waited patiently, knowing there was a reason for his quiet. "The rings were his," John finally said. "The Chief and his wife's." He smiled at Klare's gaping jaw. "Yeah, I didn't know he'd ever been married before either. He told me that she had been killed by Insurrectionists. Her and his daughter. That's actually why you were his favorite. You don't look anything like his daughter, but he could see her in you. Having you here was like having a second chance with her. He wanted to be here tonight, to watch you get married since he'd never get to see his daughter walk down the aisle. His words, not mine. But he knew that he'd be needed to get the medical station ready, so he gave us his rings instead."_

_Stunned, Klare looked back at the ring on her finger. Realizing just how much she must have meant to Mendez for him to give her his wife's wedding ring, she wanted to cry. From the look on John's face, he would understand. By the time the others came back over there were no tears upon her cheeks although Fred noticed that her eyes were a little red. He asked her about it quietly but she just smiled and shook her head. She was alright. Bidding goodbye to the chaplain, the teens made their way back to the barracks to catch whatever sleep they could. Five hours later, the Spartans were roused for their trip to the medical center. As they all boarded the Pelican, Klare saw Mendez off to the side, watching them all. If asked later, no one would be able to answer why Klare left the formation to walk up to Mendez and actually hug him. They'd be even less capable of saying why Mendez hugged her back._

_Seventeen hours later, Mendez received word that Klare had died from complications during the augmentations._

* * *

 

Time: 1303\

July 19, 2552\

Reach

"I never take it off," John admitted quietly, glancing down at his hands. He was wearing gloves like he always did, not because it was part of the uniform but because it would hide the ring. Mendez had suggested it to him. John was never ashamed of his decisions and didn't regret marrying Klare. Now, all these years later, he could be honest with himself. He did want to protect Klare, but the only reason he'd even considered marrying her was because he loved her. He wanted people to know that Klare was his wife. But Spartans weren't supposed to think like that, especially after the augmentations. Friendship and a sort of sibling connection were the deepest relationships they were supposed to feel. So John hid the ring, protecting Klare and himself. But he never took it off.

Klare was silent, staring at the spot where the silver band would be. For what felt like the first time, John couldn't read what she was thinking. Then she glanced up at him and he saw that light. The same light that he saw when she smiled at him for the first time. The same light that he saw when they placed the AI chip inside her. The same light he saw when she signed, 'I do.'

"I never take it off either," she admitted, looking down at her own hands which John finally saw bore gloves like his own. If he looked closely he could see the slight ridge the ring made. "I'm actually notorious for it among the Helljumpers. Not only am I married to a nameless person, I won't let anyone see my ring. I never take it off and won't let people examine it. Right now I think the most popular rumor is that my husband is an Insurrectionist and that if I take the ring off it will self-destruct." John made a face and was startled when Klare laughed. He'd forgotten what it was like to make her make that sound. For a moment, it was almost like they were children again and all the horrible years were wiped away. "Yes, I agree it's stupid, but it stops them from asking so I don't bother trying to correct them. Besides, it's always changing. In a few months, they'll have a new favorite theory."

She looked up at him and smiled, letting him see everything. It didn't matter that she was talking to them all again. In that moment, John knew that her loudest statements would always be made without words. He could only hope that she could hear him as clearly as he heard her. Judging by the way her smile twisted to become teasing, he figured she did.

"Kaine!" The whole table jumped and looked over to where Sully was coming towards them. His expression was sheepish, as if he knew he was breaking up something important. "Some ODST named O'Brien told me to come get you. Your ship is ready for departure and I've been assigned to your ship for the duration of the mission."

"Right then," Klare answered, getting to her feet. John blinked and realized she was Kaine again. A part of him was sad that she'd learned to make the transformation between Klare and Kaine so smooth and effortless. He knew it was necessary for her survival, but that didn't make it any easier to bear. "We'd best be on our way then. If we don't hurry O'Brien will likely send the squad after me." She scowled and said out the side of her mouth, "When it comes to protecting me, I'm sure O'Brien, Mendez, and John would get along splendidly." Then she looked at the Spartans again, much more at ease than she had been before they're talk. "I suppose I'll be seeing you around. Let me know if you ever need anything."

Recognizing the offer for what it was, a promise of support from one Spartan to another, John nodded happily. He was glad that he wouldn't be giving her up again. They could never be open about their relationship, but at least he would be able to interact with her. And then her eyes shifted, becoming softer. "Hey, if any of you see Chief Mendez again, could you tell him the truth and that I'm sorry? For everything?" John cursed the crowded state of the chow hall, wanting nothing more than to hug her. He'd never known Klare could sound like a lost child.

"Of course we will," Kelly answered, giving Kaine a warm smile. Well, warm for a Spartan but that's all that mattered. "And we'll see you again too." That drew a slight chuckle from the ODST as she smiled reluctantly. Seeming to be unaware of it, she gave them the sign for 'fair enough'. Then she pulled herself together and saluted them before turning on her heel and walking away, Sully trailing behind her. John had expected to feel pain as she walked away from him but he didn't. All he felt was a surety that he would see her again. Until then, he could close his eyes and see her whenever he wanted to.

* * *

Sighing, Kaine let her head rest against the back of the seat. She hadn't planned to let John know who she was after Sigma Octanus and had been a worried mess since she had told him. Now, she could finally relax. She wasn't stupid, of course. The other Spartans probably would never understand why she'd left. She hadn't talked to them like she had with John. Well, talk being a relative term of course. But they still accepted her. It was clear on all their faces, even before their talk in the chow hall. Some weren't happy with her and others were just plain confused. That didn't matter. They stood behind her, protected her from ONI, and were willing to listen to her. Yes, they would all fight at times. They did that before. The sibling term wasn't just because they all grew up together, after all. And now she knew that she'd never lost John. After his reaction on the ship, she'd been starting to wonder.

"So, you're gonna be the ONI spy for this mission?" she asked Sully, pulling herself out of her thoughts. He just scowled at her playfully, knowing she wasn't serious.

"You could call me that," he said, holding on to the side of the Warthog when Kaine swerved around a tank that wasn't moving fast enough. "Good grief, woman, are you trying to kill us?" Kaine just shrugged, not really wanting to explain that her Spartan reflexes wouldn't allow them to get in a wreck. "My official mission is just to observe. After all, this is the first time we've willingly gone into a Covenant hot-spot. The ONI upper-echelon is hoping I can get more data on those two new Covenant species." This time Kaine bit her tongue. No reason to remind Sully that the Hunters weren't exactly new. ONI just hadn't paid any attention to them after Corbulo.

As they got closer to the Pelican that would take them to the ship, Kaine started rubbing her ring through the glove. A part of her had always hoped that John would still remember that they were married, but she'd never dared to dream that he would hold on to the memory like she had. Now, faced with the truth, she had this strange urge to tell someone. A desire to make sure that at least one person outside the Spartans knows that she and John are married. Yes, she still remembered that the information was dangerous, both to her and John. That didn't change the feeling.

"Hey Sully, do you remember what you said in the chow hall?" she asked suddenly, startling her friend into silence. Considering he'd just been complaining about her driving, she didn't mind. "You mentioned that your loyalty was to your friends, not ONI. Did you mean it?" Her nerves prevented her from looking at Sully as she asked but she could see him nod out of the corner of her eye. "Good, because I have a story for you that ONI would kill for." For a second she clenched her fist, feeling the ring bite into her finger. Then, taking a leap of faith, she told him everything.

 


	7. Reach

**Reach**

Time: 0038\

August 30, 2552\

Reach, Sword Base

 _This_ was it? _This_ was an empty dead end. Plenty of bodies and sparking wires, but a dead end all the same. And _this_ , apparently, is where they were supposed to be. Six wasn't an expert, but that didn't seem right to him.

“Looks like they got themselves cornered,” Jun drawled, motioning to the bodies around them. It was the obvious assumption, but to be honest, the newest Noble wasn't sold on the idea. Marines weren't usually stupid enough to get themselves in a situation from which there was no escape. They had to be missing something.

“Or were committed to the position,” Carter countered, though he didn't sound convinced and Six agreed. What position?! There was no position! It was an empty, dead-end hallway. That's it.

“I'm going with cornered,” Emile snapped, having gone a little further to confirm what they already knew. “There's nothing here.”

“No load-bedding columns either,” Jun noted. “Sir, if we're supposed to blow this place, this ain't the spot to do it from.” Personally, Six agreed, but he chose to keep silent. On a mission like this, he was the one delegated to pulling the trigger and not much else.

“Dot, check your vector,” Carter finally griped at the AI, sounding 100% fed up. He was still a little raw from Kat's death and didn't want to wait around.

“Vector confirmed, commander,” was the unwanted reply. “We are precisely where ONI has directed-” Six glanced over quickly when the female voice suddenly cut off. That was new. “Apologies. Coordinates revised. Please confirm?”

“Revised?” Carter asked incredulously.

“By an AI of unknown origin with clearance well above my own.” That wasn't worrisome at all.

“Well, it's pointing us a klick and a half east and two-thousand feet underground,” Jun complained, also sounding to be completely fed up with the mission.

“And I didn't bring my shovel, commander,” Emile chimed in, drawing a reluctant smile to Six's hidden face. At least one of them still had the ability to joke.

“Sir,” Jun cut in, clearly impatient and possibly pissed off, though it was a valid feeling. “I say we go AI free on this one. Obviously, these coordinates are junk and the longer we go chasing them-” He cut off suddenly as there was a loud clicking noise, like a lock coming open. The sound triggered ever Spartan into attack mode, but when they looked towards the source, there was nothing there. No Covenant, no Marines, just the same old dead end. At least, until the hidden door in the wall slid open, revealing a new hall.

“What is this, Dot?” Carter asked, fully unamused. Six had to agree. Hidden passages, unknown AIs, this was not what he had signed up for.

“Our revised route, commander.”

“All right, we came this far,” Noble One almost sighed, giving the hand sign to move forward. If asked, he might have admitted to a slight amount of curiosity, but no one asked so he didn't admit. Instead, they all moved down the dimly lit hall, wondering what would be at the end. Somehow, each Spartan knew they were in a bit over their pay-grade.

Around the corner at the end of the hall sat the strangest little gondola. Six actually stopped and stared for a whole two seconds, wondering if they were in the middle of a badly written video game or something. A gondola, underground? Who came up with stuff like this? ONI? But with few, or rather no, other options, the small team loaded onto the car. “Your new AI friend tell you anything else, Dot?” Carter asked, only slightly sarcastic. However, there was no reply. “Dot?”

“She's been expecting you,” the AI said at last as the doors slid shut with a hiss and they started moving. It was so creepy, none of them commented when Emile drawled that it was perfect. Unknown AI, secret tunnels, questionable placements of gondolas, and now someone that was expecting them. All the makings of a B-class horror film. If Six saw someone with a chainsaw, Spartan or no, he was getting his ass out of there.

Then the screen turned on and Six decided he wasn't going to wait for the chainsaw person. The woman he saw was enough reason to go in the opposite direction. “Apologies for the unusual security measures, commander,” Halsey said, not sounding sorry in the slightest, “but the stakes demand it.”

“Dr. Halsey,” Carter greeted, sounding perfectly neutral. If it wasn't for his clenched fists Six would have thought that he was fine talking to the lady. “Casualty reports have you listed as-”

“Yes,” the scientist interrupted, looking away, “well, as they say, news of my death has been greatly exaggerated. I only wish the same could be said of the rest of Noble team.” Hidden behind the obscurity of his HUD, Six frowned. The words indicated sympathy, but the tone was more in line with a painful mock. Was she taunting them? Surely even Halsey wouldn't do that.

“We all do, ma'am,” Noble One replied, also looking away. By comparison, he sounded tired, almost exhausted. It was a miracle he'd lasted as long as he had.

“It may please you to learn that the data module Noble Two procured from VISAGRAB station contained precisely what my scientist promised,” the doctor said, voice gentler than the Spartans had ever heard. In that moment, Six would believe she at least felt pain about Jorge's death, if not Kat's. “A latchkey discovery. It has unlocked, at last, the secrets of this excavation.” Yeah, because that didn't sound creepy or ominous at all. Why wasn't this lady an actor?

“Not sure I understand,” Carter admitted.

“Your orders were a pretext to bring you to me, and have been overridden,” was the harsh reply. “You are here, team Noble, to ensure the delivery of this vital data to a secure location.”

“Doctor,” Noble One cut in, shaking his head in frustration, “our orders are to destroy all sensitive material-”

“Others will handle the demolition,” the scientist countered, making Six feel like a spectator at a tennis match. Were either of them going to be able to get a whole idea spoken?

“I'll need to confirm this new directive with command,” Carter warned, managing to hold on to his temper, but Halsey interrupted _again._

“Colonel Holland will be briefed. You belong to ONI now.” Then the screen went blank, leaving the four Spartans in a stunned silence. From everything Jorge had ever said about Halsey, they'd been expecting just slightly more understanding. Apparently, they were wrong.

However, there wasn't a lot of time to think about it as the gondola dropped into a very sudden cavern, surprising them all. Unless they were mistaken, that was a Covenant ship under Reach's surface. Except, it wasn't. He couldn't pin it down exactly, but Six could tell there were some differences between the ship before him and the ones he'd been trained to shoot down. “Before you is an alien artifact neither human nor Covenant in origin,” Halsey said, confirming Six's thoughts. “Advanced beyond our comprehension. Until now. Thanks to Noble Two, the decrypting of its data is nearly complete.” Without warning, a huge chunk of stone broke from the ceiling, falling several hundred feet before crashing into the floor with a roar. That didn't inspire any confidence.

“Whatever we're doing down here, we better do it quickly,” Emile grumbled, resettling his weapon. The other Spartans copied him; none of them had a good feeling about what was about to happen.

“Have your data ready, ma'am. We're coming to you,” Carter said dryly, already knowing that the infuriating woman was going to argue with him. She wouldn't be Halsey if she didn't cause them trouble.

“The decrypting process is still underway.” Yep, there it was.

“I don't think you understand,” Noble One nearly growled. “We're out of time. If it isn't portable when we reach you, it's going to get buried.”

“Bury any of it, and you bury humanity's best chance for survival,” the scientist snapped back, almost sounding passionate. Then, suddenly quieter, “Commander, you've been wondering what your Spartans died for? They died for this. Please, buy me all the time you can.” Six quickly loaded a new mag, knowing what his leader's response was going to be. Maybe she was just trying to manipulate them or maybe it was the truth, but if there was even a chance that Jorge and Kat had died to give Halsey time for this discovery, all four of them would win her every second they were capable of. So when the door of the gondola slid open, they slid out quickly, already armed to the teeth.

“Let's find Halsey's lab; move!” Carter ordered, unusually short. Bringing up the Spartan deaths wasn't the smartest thing Halsey had ever done.

“Commander, I'm seeing turrets already in defensive positions,” Jun reported, sounding resigned. He didn't like Halsey any more than any of them, but like Six, he was willing to protect her for Two and Five.

“Were they expecting company?” Emile asked sarcastically. Six didn't bother chiming in, instead hurrying over to the closest turret. Covenant would be descending in mass soon enough so they'd need all the help they could get.

“They sure as hell got it,” Carter drawled. Ah, right on time. Covenant might have been made up of a conglomeration of alien bastards, but they were unusually punctual. Didn't make up for the rest of their faults, but it was something. “Doctor, we have hostiles inbound,” he informed the entombed scientist.

“Spartans, you cannot allow the Covenant to break through the doors to my lab,” she ordered, a hint of fear in her voice.

“Understood,” Noble One replied, not surprised in the least. Then, slightly more reluctant, he continued, “Let's get the doctor the time she needs.”

And so began one of the longest battles Six had participated in, in a long time. A tutorial voice taught him how to activate the turrets and warned that they would shut down if they took too much damage. Therefore, it was his job to run around resetting the damn things as Covenant kept taking them out. Again and again, he had to stop to kill whatever non-human was before him, but mostly it was run, reset, run, reset, run, reset, run, I just reset that, damn you!

Then, suddenly, “Well done, Spartans. I'm opening the laboratory doors.” Six didn't fall to his knees in thankfulness, but only by extreme strength of will. And the fact that he was sitting in a Wraith when the call came in. It was faster than running back in forth.

“Door's open, Noble Six,” Carter called. “Get back to the lab.” He almost sounded nice, having been slightly impressed during the battle. No one could replace the original Six, but the new one wasn't half bad. Still, no more encouragement was needed as Six came running, as anxious to get inside as anyone.

They ran through the halls, painfully aware that Covenant would not be far behind them until arriving in a room Six couldn't help but dub The Brain. It certainly fit the profile, at least. In the center stood Halsey, surrounded by computers with data streaming by too fast for the Spartans to see, let alone an un-augmented human.

“What is this stuff?” Emile asked, utterly confused by what he was seeing.

“Knowledge,” was the clipped reply from the bustling doctor. “A birthright from an ancient civilization.” Yeah, because the exact thing the Spartan team wanted just then was a riddle. “This AI is its custodian,” she continued, drawing their attention to a small, blue/purple human shape that was sitting cross-legged next to one of the screens. It's back was to them, but Six noted that it glanced over its shoulder, revealing a feminine appearance. Not bad. “And she has chosen you as her couriers.” Never mind; very, very bad AI.

“Chosen?” Emile questioned. “By an AI?”

“By _this_ AI, yes,” Halsey agreed, indicating that there was something different about the tiny blue/purple female. “Her measure of you carries as much weight as much as my own. Perhaps more.” What was with this lady and cryptic half answers?! “You are to take her to the UNSC ship breaking yard in Aszod. There you'll find a Helcion class cruiser waiting to get her off planet.”

“I understand,” Carter said, probably forming a half dozen plans on how to accomplish the newest mission. He also seemed at least a little happy to have decided to give the ONI scientist time after all.

“Do you?” Halsey asked, though Six was sure she did it just to be rude and/or condescending. Especially as she paid them very little attention, too invested in whatever she was inputting into the computers. “Mankind is outmatched. When Reach falls, and it will fall, our annihilation is all but certain. Unless we can glean from this artifact a defense against the Covenant. A game changer; on the level of the conical bullet in the 19th century or faster than light travel in the 23rd.”

“And what if we can't,” Noble One challenged, wanting to have all the facts he could get his hands on. He knew the human future was bleak, but if there was even a sliver of hope he needed to fully appreciate just how much rested on his shoulders. It would help him make difficult decisions in the future.

“An apt question, if there were somewhere else to place our hope,” the doctor answered bluntly for a change, walking over the AI that had stood up and collapsed the data sphere it had been sitting within. “There is not.” Human and AI held gazes for a few moments before the data person was collapsed into a transport carrier and extracted from the holo-projector. Handling the device carefully, Halsey walked straight to Six and offered it. “Take it, Lieutenant, she has made her choice.” Hesitating, the Spartan in question glanced at Noble One and didn't reach out to grab the carrier until he'd received a nod. The moment his fingers curled around the tube, the doctor asked, “Do you have it?” Six gave a simple yes, but it wasn't enough as she ordered, “Say the words, please.”

“I have it.” Three little words, but they came with a weight that Six wasn't really expecting. As Halsey released the carrier and he supported it alone, it finally hit him that he was holding humanity's last hope in his hands. The very idea was so nerve-wracking, he almost couldn't comprehend it. But the moment of weakness passed quickly and he held the tube a little tighter before attaching it to the latch on his back.

“We need to go,” Carter finally said, carefully steering Six around and out of The Brain. Halsey followed quickly, showing them an alternate route to the surface, making Emile and Jun bitch about all the work they'd done to get down to the cavern only to take an elevator back to the surface. They emerged in a tunnel that morphed into a hangar with two Pelicans ready and waiting for them. Without words, they started walking out.

Like a damn nervous tick, Six carefully reached back to touch the AI carrier again as the small group walked out of the hanger towards the waiting Pelicans. Spartan III training was extensive, but being handed humanity's last hope of survival was not something that had been covered. Truthfully, it was rather nerve-wracking, but that wasn't something he could casually mention. For whatever reason, the AI had chosen him. If he survived the mission he'd need to ask if it was a special, psycho version of a standard AI.

“Dr. Halsey,” Carter said firmly, “Noble 3 will escort you to Castle Base.” From the tilt of Jun's head, he wasn't overly happy about that.

“I require no escort, Commander,” Halsey said haughtily, but was cut off as Carter continued, completely ignoring her.

“Jun, make sure _nothing_ falls into enemy hands,” he ordered tightly. There was a large amount of weight to the order, and every Spartan knew it. It was never easy ordering someone to possibly destroy themselves and others.

“I'll do what's necessary, sir,” Jun replied. He knew the risks, same as every other person that wore the armor. And he wasn't afraid to bully Halsey into compliance. He hadn't liked how the woman had treated Jorge. “Good luck.”

“You too, rifleman.”

“You'll need it,” a voice called, startling them all as a person stepped off the closest Pelican. Weapons were up in a second, but Carter's came back down just as fast. He recognized the symbol on the chest. “Noble Squad, good to see at least some of you are still alive.”

“Commander Faldon,” Noble One greeted stiffly, though with considerably more warmth than he used with Halsey. “I wasn't aware that you were coming to pick us up.”

“We were in the area,” the ODST said with a wave of her hands, clearly blowing off his unspoken question. “You mentioned that you were escorting Dr. Halsey, so ONI sent us right over to pick her up. Or did you think that we were just leaving Pelicans lying around? We're getting beat up but not that badly.”

“You should be on the front lines, soldier,” Halsey broke in, clearly upset about something. Commander Faldon turned towards her, face hidden behind the opaque HUD. For a long moment, she was silent, and Noble Six had a feeling that she was restraining herself from doing something they would all regret.

“And you should be dead, Doctor,” Faldon finally said, voice carefully neutral. “Yet here you are. More the pity.” They all politely ignored Emile as he unsuccessfully tried to cover up a snort. “As you are not my commanding officer and you have been hiding in a hole the last few weeks, please understand when I blatantly disregard what you think I should be doing. However, if you feel so strongly about my being here, I can always leave and take my Pelicans with me. I'd like to see your important cargo reach the shipyards in time without them.”

“I think I like this officer,” Emile muttered from the back. Six found himself in agreement.

“I don't care if you like me or not,” Faldon suddenly said, making the two Spartans jump. “Now let's move. Covenant is already on their way.” Gesturing towards the far Pelican, she said, “Alberta over there will take Noble Three and Dr. Halsey to Castle Base where they will then be taken off planet. My squad is already inside, simply awaiting your arrival.” Then she jerked her thumb at the Pelican she had disembarked. “Brutus will carry the rest of Noble Team and myself to the shipyards. And Noble One, shut your mouth. I'm coming.”

“I do not approve,” Carter argued anyway. The rest of his team could hear the frown in his tone of voice, but it seemed to have no effect on the ODST. She simply shrugged and turned away, quickly boarding the dropship. After a few moments, the Spartan leader could only sigh and follow, calling out, “I'm flying the damn thing. You get in the back. Sir.” Six and Emile shared their own looks of resigned amusement before climbing on board themselves.

“I need a heading, Dot,” Noble One said as he settled into the pilot's seat. He could hear his men and Commander Faldon settling in the back. It would be a cold day in Hell before he'd admit it, but he was thankful for the ODST's presence. She had always treated the Spartan IIIs well and seemed to be a good luck source on occasion. Maybe the mission would finally start turning around.

“Head three kilometers north,” the AI answered him, “turn right, heading 050.”

“Which leads to?”

“The ship breaking yards in Aszod,” was her reply. Come to think of it, Commander Faldon had mentioned the shipyards herself. Odd. “The only off-planet extraction point left on this continent.” That might explain things. “Small scale air attacks have decimated many convoys en route. An armada of Covenant Cruisers is hastening to the site as well. UNSC Cruiser _Pillar of Autumn_ is awaiting your arrival.”

“Wouldn't be a Noble mission if it were easy,” he mentioned blithely, barely hearing the snort from the bay behind him. It had to be from Faldon, but he decided not to call her on it. Yes, she treated them as equals, but there was always something about her that he couldn't put his finger on. Something dangerous that left him feeling that she could snap his neck at any second. So if she wanted to find amusement in his statement, she was welcome to.

An explosion below them drew every gaze downward. With a bright flash and a roar, the underground site that Halsey had been working in started collapsing as the support systems were strategically taken out by remote blasts. Knowing the place was swarming with Covenant, Carter couldn't find it in him to care. Instead, he gave the second Pelican a parting glance before focusing on his own flying tasks.

It didn't take long to find trouble. From the time Faldon called out a warning about the approaching Covenant air attack to the time Carter realized that his wounds would kill him if the aliens didn't was less than five minutes. Frankly, it was a miracle the Pelican was still flying at all. “Noble Leader,” Dot chimed, “seek immediate medical attention. Noble Leader, please respond.” Carter could hear Six approaching the cockpit. He allowed himself some amusement at the realization that he now knew the other Spartan well enough to identify him by footsteps alone. After the first Noble Six's death, Noble One had been convinced that no one could take his place. It seemed he was wrong. He just wished they had some more time together.

Plasma fire ricocheted within the Pelican confines, making everyone dive for cover. Somewhere in the back, Carter could hear Faldon and Emile returning fire, but he couldn't focus on them just then. He had bigger problems, like not dying right that second. “Please respond, Sierra Two-Five-Nine,” Dot continued as Carter ripped off his HUD and tossed it away. The damn thing wasn't helping anymore. Besides, she had to be getting desperate, to refer to him that way. No one had called him that since Chief Mendez. “You are alarming me.” Yeah, he was alarming himself too.

“Not sure how long she's gonna stay together,” Noble One told Six, cutting off the younger Spartan's words. “Skies are jammed up anyways.” Ignoring the spray of his own blood across the glass, he tried to maneuver through the canyon. “Gotta get you off her, Lieutenant.”

“Sir,” Six said, right on the edge of arguing. “You're-”

“Don't want to hear it,” Carter cut him off, sounding very nonchalant, all things considered. “Get the package to the _Autumn._ ”

There was silent for a long battle moment before Six nodded firmly. “Done.” They all knew it wasn't a promise. It was a statement of fact. Carter appreciated the sentiment, but they need to focus on the moment.

“Not yet it's not,” he reminded, quickly rounding a bend as he flew through the rock maze. “Emile, go with him. It's a ground game now.”

Instantly throwing down his ammo depleted gun, Emile gave Noble One the Spartan salute, left fist against the right side of the chest. “It's been an honor, sir,” he said, deftly ignoring the tears that pricked his eyes.

“Likewise,” Carter assured with the barest hint of a smile. He glanced back to see his teammate one last time and noticed Faldon out of the corner of his eye. She didn't say anything, just watched them mutely from behind her HUD. However, she must have noticed his gaze, because she nodded ever so slightly. Turning back to the controls, Carter said, “I'll do what I can to draw their fire.” It was a one-way trip, and they all knew it, but no one decided to call him on it. For that, he was thankful. Before Six could walk away, Noble One suddenly barked, “Six! That AI chose you. She made the right choice.” He could see the other Spartan's reflection nod before making his way to the back of the Pelican.

Trying to keep the Pelican steady, Carter waited for the three to get to the back. Covenant was still shooting, but it wasn't like there were a hell of a lot of options left to them. “On my mark,” he called as he held up three fingers, trying to talk through the blood that was collecting in his throat. Rather than risk more words, he counted down with his fingers before yelling, “Mark!”, feeling his own heart clench as they jumped. For better or for worse, they were on their own.

If it hadn't been for their shields, they never would have made it. As it was, the impact wiped them clean, making all three soldiers scramble for cover once they managed to get back on their feet. Six only paused long enough to check on the AI as the Pelican and Covenant shot over them.

“Let's go,” Faldon hissed, already making her way through a narrow section of rock. There wasn't any time to ask if she knew where the hell she was going, leaving the Spartans to hurry after her, praying she had a plan. However, they quickly realized what was happenings as the small group broke into a much larger clearing and could see the besieged dropship.

“Still with us, commander?” Emile asked, trying to sound normal. He'd already lost all of his other friends. It was hard to watch the last one go on a mission they all knew he wouldn't come back from.

“Stay low,” Carter ordered, sounding a little breathless but still fully cognizant of what was happening. “Let me draw the heat. Just deliver that package.” Easier said than done, considering the mass of aliens between them and their target. But that was the point of Noble missions, right?

“That's our destination, Six,” Emile suddenly said, pointing out the distant ship that they could barely see. “The _Pillar of Autumn_. Race you there.”

“Easier said than done, boys,” Faldon chided, startling both Spartans. How did she do that?! Gesturing at the amassed Covenant, she continued, “We've got a long fight before we get to our target.”

“How the hell you still alive anyway?” the grumpy Spartan asked, no doubt glaring at her from behind his skull HUD. “That jump should have turned you into a bloody pile. I mean, we're Spartans with shields and _we_ didn't make it out without a scratch.” The Commander turned her HUD toward him and tilted her head, but Six had the strangest feeling she was laughing at them.

“I'm assuming you forgot that the D in ODST stands for 'drop', Spartan,” she teased. Yep, she was definitely smiling at least. “I do bigger jumps than that in my sleep. Now, are we going or not?” She bowed in a way that could be mocking. All Six could think about is how much she resembled Chief Mendez just then. “After all, it's your mission, not mine.”

With a grunt, Emile jumped down to confront the aliens. At least them he could shoot without getting reprimanded. Six followed, but he noticed that Faldon swept wide instead of coming in behind them. He'd assumed she'd use the Spartans for shields like most officers did, but it seemed like she was willing to get her hands dirty too.

The truth was, they needed the help. Six was used to working alone, yes, but he'd come to appreciate having comrades to back him up in a battle. Now that it was just him and Emile, things were a bit harder, especially as his usefulness was limited, what with protecting the AI and all. Faldon fell into their pattern seamlessly, always exactly where they needed her. Sweeping, charging, covering, distracting, she did it all without needing to be told. If only more officers were like her.

“Got transport,” Emile reported, spotting a couple Mongooses. Ignoring the grumblings from Faldon about abandoning equipment, they quickly mounted up, Six and Emile teaming up so that the officer could have her own. Now the journey was much faster. Almost too fast, as Six struggled to keep the vehicle moving on the correct path. Even Faldon was having problems and both Spartans were strangely pleased to note that she could cuss like a sailor when the mood struck her.

Then, “Scarab!” Emile shouted, spotting the monstrosity right in front of them. “Do not engage!” Six ignored the extremely smart-ass comment Faldon threw at them as he tried desperately to avoid the fire from the nearby Ghosts. Even for a Noble mission, this was insane.

“Get the package out of there,” Carter suddenly came back on the line, the Pelican shooting right over their heads again, still trailing its alien tail. “Remember your objective.” As happy as he was that their leader was still alive, Six did not like being treated like a child. He would have said so too, if he hadn't heard the wet cough that followed Noble One's words.

Carefully/recklessly, Six and Faldon careened past the Scarab, pushing the Mongooses as fast as they could go. They both knew the metal monster could kill them with an accidental tap but the Ghosts kept them close to the Scarab's legs. There was a fraction of a second when Six wondered how the ODST was able to keep up with his own augmented reflexes, but then he nearly got squashed so he decided to ignore the thought for a while.

Once past the Scarab, the small group thundered on, very much aware of how little time they actually had. When they came to the destroyed bridge there wasn't enough time to stop. Instead, Six and Faldon hit the gas as hard as they could and made the jump. Spartan or not, Six and Emile both had their hearts in their throats at the sight of the drop. However, they landed safely, though certainly not softly, on the other side and found themselves in agreement when Faldon angrily muttered, “Let's never do that again.”

The road barricades brought a swift halt to their ride, leading to a rapid dismount. Beyond them, the canyon was clearly overrun by non-humans. “Noble, enemy forces are blocking the road ahead,” came Carter yet again. Six quickly climbed up the incline, already taking note of the Wraith. That would be his priority. Emile and Faldon could handle the other Covenant, right? Although he wasn't so sure, considering the ODST just hissed, “Shut up, Vincent,” to absolutely no one. Maybe the stress of the day was getting to her. After all, she was only human.

Taking a risk, Six quickly killed the Wraith's gunner before charging straight at it. He knew he probably only had one chance, but if this didn't work they'd all die anyway. All it took was a bit of running, a lucky jump, and a hell of a lot of sheer muscle power to throw the pilot from his chair, but eventually, Six was successful. The Wraith was his. And the first order of business was blasting that damn pilot that was trying to force him out.

“Hey!” Faldon barked over the COM, “We could use some help over here, John Wayne!”

“Who the hell is John Wayne?” Six muttered under his breath as he opened fire on the remaining aliens. He was resoundingly ignored by the female, though he thought he heard a little snort, possibly from Emile.

Once the area was clear, Six started taking the Wraith up the hillside, intending to blast every alien that got in his way. And it really wasn't his fault that he kept hitting Emile and knocking the Spartan around. He should know better than to stand that close to a Wraith! At least Faldon was laughing. Well, more like rolling on the ground, laughing. It wasn't that funny...okay, maybe it was. And ramming that Elite into the canyon wall was definitely fun. Still, the vehicle could only go so far, and he eventually had to leave it behind as the group entered the narrow and twisting tunnels that the canyon was famous for. Faldon was in the lead, moving with a confidence she really should not have had. It was almost like she'd been there before. That was when Six noticed the carvings in the walls. “What are these?” he asked, drawing Emile's attention.

“They're markers,” Faldon answered, not slowing down or looking back. “We put them here to find our way through without getting lost. Saved our asses every time our instructors decided to leave us stranded.”

“We?” Emile questioned, bringing up the rear. “Who is we?”

This time the ODST did stop, just long enough to gently brush her fingers over another carving. Six thought it said CXVII+CXIII. “My siblings and me,” she said quietly before hurrying on. This time, neither Spartan asked.

“Noble,” Carter suddenly gasped across their line. “You've got a...situation.” Just then they broke into an open space and Six could feel his jaw drop.

 _That_ was a big ass Scarab.

“Mother-!” Emile cursed. “We can get past it, sir.” Six wondered just who the hell he thought he was kidding. The thing was looking right at them! There was no way they were getting out of there.

“No you can't,” Carter argued, a dreadful finality ringing in his words. “Not without help.”

“Commander,” Emile pleaded, “you don't have the firepower.”

“I've got the mass,” Noble One retorted, swooping low over the enemy and drawing its attention for a few moments.

“Solid copy,” the skull Spartan had to acknowledge sadly, choking back on some tears. He needed to be strong, for his friend if no one else. “Hit 'em hard, boss.”

“You're on your own, Noble,” came the voice as the Pelican headed straight for the Scarab. In that moment, each human could hear that, somehow, Noble Leader was at peace. This was what he'd been made to do. This is what his entire life revolved around. Protecting his men with everything he had, up to and including his life. “Carter out.”

With a roar, a ball of flames, and a wave of heat, it was over. They truly were on their own.

“Crevice to the east,” Emile bit out, unable to watch the smoking ruins of the Scarab anymore. “Let's go.” Without a word, Six and Faldon followed him. It wasn't like there was anything to say anyway.

Once in the tunnel, Faldon took point once more, following the marks on the walls. It didn't take them long to come across Covenant dead, but the bodies were ignored. Time was rapidly ticking by and they were painfully behind schedule. If they were going to get the package to the _Autumn_ on time the only Covenant they could concern themselves with were the ones still breathing.

“Buggers,” Emile suddenly hissed, bringing the whole group to a halt. “Go quietly.” That wasn't going to help, as far as Six was concerned, but he brought his weapon up regardless. Sometimes they could sneak past the annoying insect-like aliens, though the chances of that were less when the things were awake. Like these ones.

“I miss the days when all you needed to kill a bug was a shoe,” the Commander grumbled under her breath, quickly dodging the swarm's attacks. Six couldn't help but notice how fast she was, or how deliberate. She didn't move like most of the humans he knew. In fact, if he had to take a guess, he'd say she moved like a Spartan. Maybe she'd been trained by one? After all, ODSTs and Spartans did run ops together. Then a bullet suddenly shrieked right past his ear, hitting the Bugger that had snuck up on him. “What the hell are you doing, Spartan?! Focus!” He'd barely glanced her way to reply when he heard a grunt of pain and she dropped.

“Commander!” he yelled, quickly running to her side to provide cover. Emile was cussing up a storm as they worked to eliminate the flying hazards. Once every alien was dead, Six quickly knelt down to see her wound.

“It's fine,” she hissed through clenched teeth, holding her shoulder where she'd been hit. “Tis but a scratch.” The Spartan disagreed, but there wasn't a lot that could be done for her. They had no biofoam or pain meds, not even bandages. Really, that was a problem that needed to be taken up with command.

“We need to keep moving,” Emile reminded them. With a grunt, Faldon got to her feet, her arm dangling uselessly. “Let us take care of the Buggers, Commander. You follow behind.”

“I'm not dead yet, Spartan,” she argued instead, picking up her weapon with her one good hand. “Don't treat me like I am. You take point, I got your backs.” Deciding that arguing would be as successful as pushing a camel through the eye of a needle, Six and Emile let it go. Instead, they moved on ahead, trying to not let the enemy pass them but every now and again they could hear the Commander open fire as she protected them from enemies they couldn't see.

Six was just starting to wonder how much farther they had to go when “Spartans! Over here!” The tunnels suddenly opened up, revealing the shipyards at long last. Their target was now in sight.

“This is Captain Keyes of the _Pillar of Autumn_ ,” a male voice suddenly announced through their COMs. “We're tracking you, Noble, and we've begun our launch sequence. Proceed to dry dock, platform D. I'll be on it myself to receive the package.”

“We'll be there sir,” Emile acknowledged as Six was too busy shooting at Elites to bother with little things like formality.

“Better be, soldier, because my countdown has no abort,” Keyes said wryly.

“Understood,” the skull Spartan said, worriedly watching Faldon as he covered for her. “We gotta get to the dry dock, priority one.” Seeing the ODST stumble, Emile continued, “Captain, we have Commander Faldon with us. She's been hit.”

“What's her condition, Noble?” came the reply, all traces of mirth gone. That was the funny thing about the Commander. Outside of ONI, there weren't that many UNSC members that didn't like her. Even Noble had had a healthy amount of respect for the female.

“She insists that she's fine,” Six suddenly cut in, sounding very frustrated, though that was possibly because of the Elite that was dodging all of his shots. “However, the wound appears serious.”

“I'm right here, boys!” said ODST suddenly snapped, finally reaching shelter so that Emile could stop covering. “And Captain, I swear, if the word 'medical' comes out of your mouth in the next 24 hours I am going to put a plasma grenade in it.”

“Wonderful to talk to you again, Commander,” Keyes remarked dryly. “Are you capable of reaching the dock?”

For a very long moment, there was no reply. Six actually risked a glance back to make sure she hadn't spontaneously died. When the words finally came, they were slow and heavy, as though the officer had actually given the question a great deal of thought. “If I move quickly.”

“Then do so,” the Captain ordered, conveniently ignoring the fact that she outranked him. “I'll see you soon, Noble.”

“I'm going alone,” Faldon said the instant Keyes disconnected. “I can move faster on my own, especially if you two distract them. Plus I know some hidden paths through the yard, but you're too big for them.” Before either Spartan could argue, she turned her HUD to them, letting it go clear for a second so that they could see her face for the first time. The main thing they noticed was her silver eyes and blood red hair. Why did that seem familiar/important? “See you at the platform, Noble.” Then she was gone, moving faster than an injured person should, but not quite as she had been before.

“Think she'll make it?” Six asked, watching her vanish behind a pile of scrap metal.

“Six, I'm not sure if _we_ are going to make it,” Emile replied. “Let's go.”

The minutes that followed were an endless repeat of shoot, kill, duck. Going up stairs and down stairs and around bays and through bays and being stopped by every damn alien they met, Six was starting to think that Faldon would beat them to the platform easily. As it was, Emile apparently decided to amuse himself by providing sarcastic commentary throughout the fight. His most common phrase was, “Come on, Six. You wanna move, you need to shoot 'em in the head.” If only he knew how much those words made the quiet Spartan want to put a round through _his_ skull. They hurried on, grinding their teeth at each confrontation. “Keyes to Noble team,” the Captain suddenly chimed in. “We're running out of time here, Spartans.”

“Solid copy,” Emile replied as they stumbled onto another firefight. “We're close.” Throwing a grenade to hurry the conflict along, Six didn't wait for the Captain's answer, choosing to sprint ahead instead. He paid close attention to his motion tracker, but he could almost feel how short of a time they had.

“What's the situation?” Emile asked one of the Marines they had saved while Six swept the perimeter. He could see the platform that was almost tantalizingly close, but no ODST. Maybe they had just beat her?

“We rigged a Mass Driver up top,” was the answer to the skull Spartan's question. “We lose that, the _Autumn_ has no coverage fire, she'll never make orbit.”

“Noble to Keyes,” Emile reported in while Six checked the shack. They couldn't have actually beat Faldon there, could they? A snail would have made better progress than them. She must just be taking shelter somewhere. “We're at the pad.”

“Copy, Noble,” was the relieved return. “My Pelican's ready. Clear an LZ. I'll meet you there.” No, the Commander was not in the shack. Dammit, where was she? Six was slowly losing his mind to panic. They couldn't have lost another, right?

“Will do sir,” Emile said, watching his teammate run around. He knew what the quiet Spartan was looking for but he didn't see any sign of the sassy female. It was possible she'd moved slower than them, what with being injured and all. However, the more likely explanation was that she hadn't made it. “Alright, Six, this is it. I'll man the big gun. You just get to the platform and deliver that package. I'm in position! I'll take out as many dropships as I can.”

The Covenant there were putting up a hard fight, and Six was starting to think they weren't going to make it. He was pinned down and the few other UNSC soldiers they'd found weren't having much luck. Then, all of a sudden, an alien that no one had been aiming at fell. Followed quickly by another and another. “About time you got here,” Faldon's voice crackled over their COMs. “I was starting to think I needed to come after you.” Another alien dead. “Found a sniper rifle but I'm low on ammo. I'm working on it, but how about doing something other than gaping?” Laughing for the first times in years, Six could only obey. With Emile yelling every insult he could think of, Six shooting alien heads off of alien bodies, and Faldon muttering about males and adrenaline, it was the closest any of them had ever come to having fun during a life-or-death battle.

Finally, Emile was able to give the call they were all waiting for. “Noble to Keyes, the pad is clear.”

“On my way,” the Captain replied as they could all see a Pelican coming right for them. Stopping long enough to look up, Six spotted Faldon hanging from the ceiling, having made a strange support system out of cables. She waved to him before beginning to lower herself slowly. He would have stayed longer, but he still needed to give Keyes the package so he hurried on, knowing she would follow.

“Six,” Emile said, sounding friendlier than he had ever been before. “Time for you to leave. Get the package to the man, and get your ass off this planet. I've got your back.” Six stumbled for a moment when the full impact of the words hit him. Emile wasn't coming. He was going to stay behind and cover the _Autumn_ as it launched. It was another goodbye, and one he didn't want.

“This is Keyes on hot approach to platform Delta,” rung the voice in his HUD. “Ready to take possession of the package, Noble.” Taking a deep breath, Six headed his way, hearing Faldon behind him. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to wonder if it was all over. “Good to see you, Spartan,” Keyes said as he stepped off the Pelican, finally meeting face-to-face. He even managed a small smile for the limping Faldon. “You too, Commander. Halsey assured me I could count on you.”

“Not just me, sir,” Six replied, unable to fully block the sadness from his voice as he finally handed the package over. Mission complete. The Captain seemed to understand his unspoken words as he patted the Spartan on the arm and swore that Noble team would be remembered. It was all they could hope for anymore.

Then, as it was wont to do in a war, things went wrong. “Cruiser!” Keyes suddenly barked, spotting the Covenant ship. “Adjusting heading for the _Autumn_! Nobel Four, I need fire on that Cruiser or we're not getting out of here. Do you copy?” Do you understand that I'm asking you to stay and die?

“You'll have your window, sir.” I already knew that, sir.

Quickly boarding the Pelican, Keyes called his ship, confirming that he had the package. Faldon and Six waited for the other Marines to board when a Banshee suddenly came in, shooting down the second Pelican and sending the two soldiers diving to the ground. Scrambling for his weapon, Six tried to aim at the ship but was distracted by a cry from Emile. Startled, he looked up in time to see the Spartan throw an Elite away from the gunner's seat. When the skull wearing man stood up to finish off the Elite he yelled, “Who's next?!” Then Six watched in horror as a second Elite appeared behind his teammate and ran him through with a sword. Wounds like that were always fatal. The Elite, though, made a deadly mistake of its own when it pulled the mortally injured Spartan off its sword. “I'm ready!” Emile roared, pulling his knife out of its sheath. “Are you?!” With the last of his strength, the dying man plunged his blade into his opponent's neck and they both fell from the gun, dead before they hit the ground.

“Lieutenant, get aboard!” one of the Marines yelled as the Pelican came close to the pad once more. “We gotta get the hell outta here!” With a slowness that made Faldon shiver, Six turned around to face them. If they could see his face, they would have all been shocked into silence. After all, Spartans were not supposed to cry.

“Negative,” he said clearly. “I have the gun.” He turned his back. “Good luck sir.” With a grunt, Faldon limped over to him and pulled the startled Spartan into a tight hug. After a moment of hesitation, he carefully returned it, hearing the words she whispered to him. For those brief seconds they both mourned and indulged in a luxury they couldn't afford. And then Faldon was releasing him and allowing a Marine to hoist her into the hovering dropship. Turning back to the Pelican, Six quickly tossed something to her, smiling numbly as she caught it. Per Spartan code, the dog tags of any UNSC member killed were to be collected if at all possible. He'd been carrying Jorge's, Kat's, and Carter's, along with one of Emile's, but since there was no way he would live to see the dawn, it was time to pass them, and his, on. Besides, she'd know what to do with them. As they pulled away Six could hear the final words whispered to him by Captain Keyes.

“Good luck to you, Spartan.”

With the coldness that comes from a raging heart, Six took out any Covenant that got in his way as he traveled to the Mass Driver cannon. Once he was in the gunner seat he took out the incoming Banshees with a single-mindedness that was almost Spartan patented. Lock, charge, fire, lock, charge fire, his entire world revolved around those three words. He could vaguely hear Keyes talking to him but paid the voice no mind. This was what he'd been trained for. Being part of a team had been nice, but he was a loner. Always had been. He was better off alone. After all, his heart had never hurt like this before Noble.

But he'd also never been so happy before Noble. Jorge, who had believed in him. Kat, who had at least sort of accepted him. Jun, who had supported him. Carter, who had respected him. Emile, who had trusted him. They'd shown him things he had been missing ever since he'd signed up to become a weapon, not really knowing what it meant. So maybe, just maybe, being alone was good, but being with a team was better.

One way or another, he was going back to his team.

The Cruiser finally got in position. As it powered up its main weapon the shields lowered and Six hit it. Hard. With a giant ball of plasma fire, the ship started to go down.

“Good gunning, Spartan,” Keyes said over the open line. “All stations brace for cast off.” The _Pillar of Autumn_ 's engines engaged as the thrusters lifted the enormous ship off the ground. Feeling numb, Six climbed down from the gun as he watched the ship maneuver itself to race off into space. However, there was a little bit of joy in his heart and a tiny smile on his face as it disappeared into the sky. No matter what might happen, to him or anyone else still on the planet, Covenant had at least partially failed.

“This is the _Pillar of Autumn_ ,” Keyes' voice came over the COM for the last time. “We're away. The package is with us.” Walking out to the edge of the yard, Six looked around. There were still aliens everywhere, slaughtering the few humans that remained. It was inconsequential, considering the glassing of the planet had already begun. Nevertheless, it ensured that his last few hours would not be boring.

Settling his weapon, Six thought about the final words he and Faldon had shared.

“ _The Spartan IIs would be proud of you,”_ she'd whispered.

“ _How do you know?”_

“ _Because I'm one, and I am.”_ All the little pieces finally fell together. Her dislike of Halsey. Her fast reactions. The way she fought. The way she moved. How she could fight with wounds that killed lesser people. How she could look at a situation and know where she was needed. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. She was just like him.

And that red hair. He could remember Mendez telling stories about a Spartan with the reddest hair anyone had ever seen. Those stories of 113 had always been Six's favorite. From the time he'd learned who she was, he'd tried to be just like the long dead Spartan. One of his biggest questions in life was if she would have agreed with what he did. Now he knew. She didn't just agree, she was proud of him.

He had no more questions. He had no regrets. He was ready to die and he was going to take as many Covenant as he could with him.

Somewhere far above him, hidden amongst the stars and debris of fallen ships, Commander Kaine Faldon lay her head against the cold padding of the cryotube. The cytoprethaline had already been administered and she could feel her chest become tight as her allergy kicked in. Yet her mind was still on Reach, focused on the team she couldn't save. As she waited for the unnatural sleep to claim her, she let her thoughts wander. The scientists had learned that glassed planets healed themselves after a time, so maybe she could come back some day and find them. Find him. And make sure they got the recognition they deserved.

And maybe, just maybe, if she was able, she would find the one that managed to get away. Noble Three, Jun. He didn't have anyone anymore; the least she could do was give him the option of belonging to another team. The least she could do was look after him for them. Yes, it was the least, but it was the greatest as well. It's what she would want others to do if she left someone behind.

“Noble team,” she breathed out in a small puff of clouded air before sleep finally took her. Jorge. Kat. Carter. Emile. Six. Reach. Goodbye.

 


	8. The Ring

**The Ring**

Time: {Data error}\

September 20, 2552\

Forerunner Halo World

Grunting, Chief took a second to stop and breathe. Covenant he could handle; he'd been fighting the creatures for most of his life. He understood his enemy and how to fight them. But these...things were beyond him. There was no rhyme or reason to them. The only thing he knew was that they were trying to kill him, yet he couldn't figure out why. Did they eat flesh? It didn't appear to be so, considering all the scattered but virtually untouched bodies. The creatures seemed to be parasitic, mutating the host bodies, but to what end? What was their purpose?

But the questions would have to wait as more red markers appeared on his motion tracker. With the single-mindedness that he and his siblings were known for, Chief took off at a run again. He knew the lift to the surface was nearby and if he could get there, he could get out. Hopefully, Foehammer was still nearby and could give him a ride.

There! Just up ahead the Spartan finally spotted his salvation and he sprinted to it. Some of the smaller creatures were on his tail, but he wasn't concerned about them. They would destroy themselves on his shields and said shields were at full charge, so he focused on activating the lift. It wasn't until something clicked and the floor started to rise that he gave a sigh of relief. Maybe he wouldn't die underground after all.

“ _This is Echo 4-19,_ ” a voice suddenly said over the radio, bringing a tired smile to John's face. Ah, how he had missed that voice. It wasn't fully the one he really wanted to hear, but considering the one he wanted was probably on Earth by now, he'd settle for Foehammer. “ _Chief, is that you? I lost your signal when you disappeared inside the structure. What's going on down there?! I'm tracking movement all over the place._ ” The lift finally reached the top, allowing the Spartan to step off. Almost instantly he heard running footsteps, but he recognized them as human and waited for the group of Marines to appear.

“Sir, thank god you're here,” one of the men gasped, clearly tired and out of breath. “We've been lost out here for hours. After we lost contact with the rest of the mission we headed for the RV point and then these-these-these _things_ , they ambushed us! We gotta get out of here.” Sighing silently, Chief gave the young man points for reporting the situation, but the edge of hysteria was a bit grating. Then again, the creatures were pretty terrifying, so perhaps the Marine should be given some slack.

“ _There's a large tower a few hundred meters from your current position,_ ” Foehammer called over the lines. “ _Find a way above the fog and foliage canopy and I can move in and pick you up._ ” Hearing her words, the Marines perked up, finally having a plan that didn't involve running in circles. John was happy to see it, though he couldn't help but wonder how ODSTs would have reacted. He'd never noticed before Sigma, but all ODSTs tended to act like her, and she wouldn't be panicking on this alien world. Actually, she'd probably be having the time of her life.

“We could really use your help, sir,” one of the Marines said, snapping Chief back to the present. He really needed to stop thinking about her. It wasn't like he thought she was dead; she’d been involved in the Battle for Reach, but he’d heard that her ship had jumped to safety before the _Pillar of Autumn_ had. Surely he would have heard if the UNSC had suffered a blow as large as her death would have been.

Following the Marines out of the structure, John kept a sharp eye on his motion tracker. The creepy squid things didn't make a lot of noise, so the sensors were his best bet at early warning. Around him, the Marines kept active, falling into a rough formation with him as the leader. It wasn't an ideal situation, to be sure, but Chief was confident in his abilities for the most part. So he carefully led them into the swamp, knowing that swarms of the things could be hidden in the fog.

Sure enough, he'd barely set foot inside the fog bank before a red spot appeared on his motion tracker. “I see one!” a Marine called, making Chief grit his teeth. Was it really necessary to yell and alert the enemy that it had been seen? Although to be fair, he wasn't entirely sure the things were intelligent enough to understand what was being said. Not that it mattered, as more kept appearing. Soon enough, the humans had to go on the defensive, taking out every creepy squid thing they saw. When the things tried to box them in, Chief quickly swung wide, flanking the monsters and mowing them down from behind.

However, he wasn't a fool. The Marines, already tired and scared, were losing badly. He'd already lost half his men and the rest were dwindling fast. There were just too many targets; it was impossible to prevent themselves from being surrounded. And, of course, just because the universe hated him and thought he was an abomination that needed to be wiped from existence, as several UNSC commanding officers had argued over the years, the bigger things could use both Covenant and human weapons. All John could do was push forward towards the tower, hoping that Foehammer would actually be able to get them out.

Finally reaching the destination, Chief spun around to provide cover but paused when he realized that some _thing_ was doing his work for him. Laser beams were slicing through the creatures like knives through butter, much more efficient than any bullet had been. And that was when he heard it. Humming. Someone, somewhere nearby, was humming. During a life-or-death battle, humming.

It was official. He'd lost it. Once off this ring, he was going to check himself into a nice, secure building with reinforced padded walls and-

-okay, what was with the weird ass glowing ball/cube thing right above his head?

Running around the tower and shooting anything that got in his way, Chief was just about to signal the Pelican when his limbs suddenly tingled and everything went white. Before he could blink, he found himself on the tower and facing the thing that had been right above him. “Greetings,” it said cheerfully, like absolutely nothing strange was happening. “I am the Monitor of Installation 04; I am 343 Guilty Spark.” An AI then. Well, the Spartan had seen weirder things that day, so this wasn't too hard to swallow. “Someone has released the flood.” The what now? “My function is to prevent it from leaving this Installation, but I require your assistance. Come, this way.” Except, instead of moving, Chief was suddenly blinded by whiteness once more.

“We must collect the Index before we can activate the Installation,” Guilty Spark said through the void before Chief suddenly stepped back into reality. He felt disoriented, nauseated, but more than anything else, he was angry. Spotting the AI that had apparently brought him to this strange location, the Spartan quickly leveled his weapon at the thing and fired several rounds, wanting to make sure his ire was very well communicated. However, no damage was done and all he got was a bemused, “That was unnecessary, Reclaimer. I suggest that you conserve your ammunition for the effort ahead.” Still angry, but seeing the logic of the thing's argument, John lowered his weapon and looked around.

Then, without warning, the AI floated off, humming yet again. For a long second, John could only stare at the thing. He'd met crazy AIs before, with Vincent nearly at the top, but this thing was insane. But the orb just kept going, forcing the Spartan to follow. “Who the hell are you and what's your function?” the human finally asked, curious about this strange device. Had it existed in this bizarre ring world since it's creation? That would make it as old as the Forerunners, which might explain some of the quirks.

“I am 343 Guilty Spark,” the AI repeated. “I am the Monitor, or more precisely, a self-repairing artificial intelligence charged with maintaining and operating this facility. But you are the Reclaimer – so you know that already.”

John knew nothing of the kind, but he decided to play along. “Yes, well, refresh my memory...how long has it been since you were left in charge?”

“Exactly 101,217 local years, many of which were quite boring. But not anymore!” Then it gave another giggle, unaware of the horrified look hidden behind Chief's HUD. Yep, this thing was insane. Hopefully, Vincent wouldn't get this bad, but then again, his wife's AI was only a few centuries old. This Monitor was several millennia.

Then the strange new alien creatures suddenly swarmed them, including a new type that looked like a grotesque balloon with the mini-squid things wiggling around inside. The appearance made Chief's life suddenly very interesting as he raced around, trying his hardest not to die. “We are near the Index; follow me,” the AI said, seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that Chief was fighting for his life. At least it would stop and wait if he got bogged down in combat, but a little assistance would have been nice! Eventually, the human made it into the chamber Guilty Spark had indicated, noting the strange object that was floating far above them. Surely the thing didn't expect him to get that. Even Spartans had their limitations.

“The energy field above us contains the Index,” the AI explained as Chief got distracted by approaching enemies. “We must get up there.” Okay, so it did. Hopefully, it also had a plan, because John was too busy trying to survive to come up with one. Sadly, he wasn't too surprised when the orb simply floated out another entrance, humming merrily. This was going to get really old, really fast.

Aim, fire, kill, run, aim, fire, kill, run. Again and again, it got so repetitive John would have fallen asleep if he'd been watching the battle back when he'd been in training. Deja had never really warned the young Spartans that most battles were almost painfully boring, but this took the cake. These things had no tactics, no strategies, they just kept hurling themselves at him. Yes, it made them easy to kill with only their sheer numbers causing concern, but come on! Falling asleep in a battle wasn't exactly a good idea! “The security doors have sealed automatically,” Guilty Spark suddenly said, almost startling Chief as they came to a stop next to a large set of doors. “I will go access the override to open them.”

'And I'll just stay here and murder things,' John thought grumpily, glaring at the world as the orb floated off. If only Cortana was with him; her acidic commentary would at least keep him entertained. In fact, he was so bored he chose to let the squid things kill themselves on his shields, rather than waste ammo. Then the AI was back, chirpily saying, “Please follow closely. This portal is the first of ten.” Oh goody. What was the point of security doors if the squids had clearly infiltrated the ventilation system, no doubt having access to the entire structure. For that matter, why didn't they just take the vents to the Index? Or did that just make too much sense?

“Puzzling,” the orb mused a few seconds later, actually interrupting it's humming. “You brought such inefficient weapons to combat the flood, despite the containment protocols.” Well excuse me, Mr. High-and-Mighty, these were the best weapons available and...wait, flood again? Was that what these squid things were? Flood? “The Flood must not escape the Instillation,” the AI prattled on, unaware that John was only barely paying attention. Ninety-percent of his concentration was on killing the enemy and another eight-percent on assimilating all the new information his sense were being bombarded with. That left two-percent free and like hell was he wasting it on listening to this insane floating thing. “They consume _all_.” Well, okay, maybe he could spare one-percent to listen.

“You can see how the bodies have been transformed by the genetic reconstructing of the Flood infection. The small creatures carry spores that cause the host to mutate. The mutated host then produces spores that can pass the Flood to others. It is insidious and elegant. As long as any hosts remain, the Flood is virulent.” John could feel shivers running down his spine; this was a lot more serious than he'd first envisioned. And still the creatures, the Flood, kept coming at him. Hearing them described in more plantish terms had helped a bit, especially in understanding their apparent lack of intelligence, but there were still hundreds of them. It seemed the Covenant was giving the creatures more than enough hosts, though Chief had noticed some mutated humans as well. That didn't bode well at all. “We must continue. This way please.” Right behind you, Sparky.

Aim, fire, kill, run, aim, fire, kill, run. “This Installation's research facilities are most impressive! Perhaps we'll have time to see them later.” You're supposed to monitor this ring; don't you already know all of the facilities? Aim, fire, kill, run, aim, fire, kill, run. “These Sentinels will supplement your combat system, but I suggest you upgrade to at least a Class Twelve combat skin. Your current model only scans as a Class Two, which is ill-suited for this kind of work.” If there was a battle suit six times more powerful than MJOLNIR armor, Chief would be the first to try it on, but as that suit was not being offered, he'd stick with what he had, thanks. Aim, fire, kill, run, aim, fire, kill, run. “Pardon me. A plasma conduit breach in Section 5-5-2-4 has disrupted power flow to a gravity maintenance assembly. Repairs require my attention. I will return soon.” Finally got rid of you, yes! All that humming was getting on John's nerves! Although that exact gravity lift is the one needed to get to the next floor, so you're not actually gone. Dammit. Aim, fire, kill, run, aim, fire, kill, run. “Flood activity has caused a failure in a drone control subsystem. I must reset the backup unit. Please, continue on. I will rejoin you when I have completed my task.” Wait for it, wait for it, and...yes! Gone for real!

Grunting, Chief irritably shot the incoming Flood host. This was becoming quite aggravating. Yes, he understood the importance of retrieving the Index now, even if only half of what the AI was saying turned out to be true, but he was only one Spartan. Advanced he might be, but not infallible and no Spartan was supposed to go into direct combat against a vast number of enemies alone. Anything would help; Marines, ODSTs, another Spartan, he wasn't picky, _anything_.

“LEFT!” a voice suddenly screamed, only barely heard above the quite sudden and unexpected roar of a vehicle. Not having time to think, John dived to the left, only narrowly avoiding getting run over by the Warthog that ended up landing directly on the Flood that had snuck up behind him. There was a screech of tearing metal as the LAV ripped through the enemy targets, the driver a barely discernible ball in the front seat. Then the vehicle came to a shuddering halt, twisted and dented almost out of recognition. Everything was still until the driver eventually uncurled, opaque HUD turning from side to side in confusion. “What the fudge just happened?”

“Klare?” John breathed, finally lowering his weapon as he stared in shock. The sound of his voice had the driver spinning in their seat, almost faster than the eye could track. For a moment the two could only stare before the smaller human huffed a laugh and pulled her obviously damaged helmet off, revealing ruffled red hair and gleaming silver eyes; the very last things Chief had been expecting. “What are you doing here?”

“If you mean on this ring thing, I had to hitch a ride on the _Autumn_ during the evacuation,” the ODST said easily as she pulled herself from the rubble of her Warthog. “If you mean this exact location, your guess is as good as mine. One second I'm racing around the surface, contemplating shooting Major Silva myself, and the next this strange orb thing pops up, says the Reclaimer is in need of assistance and transports me here.” She gave him a strange look, a smirk tucked into her mouth. “Did you really need another title? Reclaimer?”

“Not my idea,” the bigger Spartan huffed, though he was laughing inside. Amazing how his wife's appearance was enough to make everything seem almost better. “Please tell me you have ammo; I'm running low, unlike the Flood.”

“First, of course I do,” the redhead scoffed, pulling a box from the mangled back seat and throwing Chief a magazine that fell out. “Second, the Flood?” Quickly explaining what he knew, John stuffed as much ammo in his suit and pack as he could. Kaine did the same, muttering quietly about aliens and being insane. Then the humming resumed as Guilty Spark floated back into sight, earning a glare from the female.

“Ah, I see you are both ready,” the AI sighed happily, drifting right by them. “Excellent. The Sentinels can use their weapons to manage the Flood only for a short time. Speed is of the essence.”

“Is this thing for real?” the ODST muttered under her breath as the next portal opened, revealing yet another Flood swarm that needed to be dealt with.

“Unfortunately,” Chief sighed, using his shotgun to kill the larger mutations while his wife took care of the smaller squids. “Does Vincent have anything helpful to add? This AI isn't exactly forthcoming.”

“He's too busy trying to understand the transporting technology,” Kaine shrugged, stomping on the last mini-Flood form. “I'll ask him when he stops muttering in alien languages. What about you; don't you have an AI of your own? Corona?”

“Cortana,” John corrected, following when the redhead loped off after Guilty Spark. He had to bite his tongue before he could suggest taking the point to protect her; she'd shot him in the ass for those comments before and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. “And she's busy elsewhere, trying to learn about this ring.”

“Please wait here,” the AI suddenly chimed as the next portal jammed, merrily floating away and leaving the two Spartans awkwardly staring. Chief took the time to really look at the redhead, noting how pale she was. Yes, all Spartans were pale, but her skin color wasn't entirely natural. Judging by the bound wound on her arm, she was low on blood, though how low had yet to be determined. The wound also looked old, making him wonder how long she'd gone without proper treatment. Surely she would have seen a medic as soon as she'd gotten off Reach before going into cryo, right? But no, she couldn't just go to any doctor. If it was discovered that she was a Spartan, she would be executed. Therefore it was more likely she'd shrugged the wound off to the medical personnel, went into cryo, woke up in time to evacuate the _Autumn_ , and hadn't had time to take care of the wound properly since then.

“Stop,” Kaine said suddenly, startling the bigger human. “I know what you're thinking; I don't need to see your face to pick up on the concern you're radiating. I'm fine and combat ready, so stop worrying about me.” John was about to argue when he noticed her hands moving in abnormal patterns. To his chagrin, it took a moment before he recognized the sign language she'd used in training. 'Please tell me your armor didn't record you saying my name, let alone Vincent's.' Wincing, he realized that she was right. The MJOLNIR armor recorded everything that was said and done, which meant he'd just revealed her to whatever ONI spook dealt with his recordings.

“It's natural to worry about non-enhanced soldiers under my command,” he retorted, carefully signing back, 'It probably did. Is there a way to alter or corrupt the data?' It took a supreme amount of effort to avoid laughing when she cussed him out silently with her hands. To be fair, he probably deserved that.

“Just because I'm unenhanced doesn't mean I'm helpless,” the ODST groused, signaling for him to step closer. When he did she carefully brushed him, pretending to look at some damage to the armor. For the fraction of a second, he felt Vincent touch his mind through the cranial implant, and that one glimpse was almost enough to send him to his knees. He'd never realized just how vast the AI was, despite having an idea to his age. If that brief contact left him reeling, what did Kaine deal with, day after day?

Then the presence was gone and Guilty Spark was back. As the doors slid open, the two humans were unsurprised to find more Flood. “Let's get back to work,” the redhead said gleefully as she shot what John was calling a carrier form straight in the chest, smiling widely when it exploded. Shaking his head fondly, Chief could only follow, wondering about how strange it was to enjoy listening to his wife laugh as she slaughtered aliens. Sometimes he would feel great anger at what the UNSC had done to him, but then these moments would come and he'd realize that he wouldn't change them for the world. Having a normal life wasn't worth giving up his Spartan siblings or this woman that lit up his entire world.

His heart twinged at the thought of the other Spartans, though. He knew not every one of them had been at Reach, but most of them had, and they had likely died there. It had never been his intention to be the last Spartan-II, but that possibility was now extremely high. Although to be fair, he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to keep living if Kaine died. That's why he kept close to her, almost to the point where she would trip over him if she turned too quickly. There was no way she didn't notice, but the redhead held her tongue, settling instead for giving the Chief reassuring looks.

The small group continued through the strange halls, alternating between shooting, running, and playfully griping at each other. At one point, John actually hurt himself stifling a laugh as Kaine, driven past the point of endurance due to the humming, shot Guilty Spark and claimed it was a ricochet. Slowly, they made their way past the myriad of enemies until finally, finally, they defeated the last group of Flood. Chief glanced worriedly at his ODST partner, noting how it was difficult for her to stand still, the blood loss making her sway slightly. If she hadn't been augmented, she would have been dead four doors ago, just like Staff Sergeant Marvin Mobuto. As it was, she was barely holding on. They needed to get her medical help, fast. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly, keeping a wary eye on the hovering AI.

“Working on it,” she panted, leaning heavily against a floor protrusion, nearly shaking from exhaustion. “Just give me a minute.”

“The energy barrier surrounding the Index will deactivate when we reach the ground floor,” Guilty Spark said as the small lift slowly descended. Panting, Kaine sat down, continuing to lean against the floor protrusions, unable to stay on her feet any longer. However, when Chief moved towards her, she looked up sharply with a glare, silently warning him away. If that wasn't enough of a hint, she signed, 'One word and I'll feed you to the Flood myself.' Wisely, the male stayed away, though he kept an eye on her.

Eventually, the lift settled and the barrier fell, allowing John to approach the floating object. “You may now retrieve the Index,” the glowing AI said happily, sparking a desire to shoot it himself in the Spartan's chest. The desire was ignored as he, instead, reached out and took the object that held the key to the survival of every human on the ring. Yet the Index was barely in his hands before it was suddenly snatched away by a beam from Guilty Spark. “Protocol requires that I take possession of the Index for transport,” it said. “Your organic form renders you vulnerable to infection. The Index must not fall into the hands of the Flood before we reach the Control Room and activate the Installation.”

“Because that doesn't sound ominous at all,” Kaine grumped quietly, slowly getting back to her feet and shuffling to stand behind John. “I've got a bad feeling about this.” Before the larger Spartan could ask what she means, Guilty Spark yelped something about the Flood spreading and then everything was white as they were transported yet again.

They reappeared in the Control Room, Kaine stumbling slightly as her head spun from the blood loss. Knowing he would only get yelled at if he inquired to her well-being, Chief instead looked around for Cortana, but he couldn't see her. “Is something wrong?” the cube AI asked, focused completely on John. It was something both Spartans had noticed earlier; the construct clearly didn't care about the ODST as all of its hopes were resting on the bigger soldier. That hadn't mattered before, but now 117 couldn't help but feel that there was something more going on in the artificial mind.

“No, nothing,” he finally replied, looking up at it while subtly signing for Kaine to keep her distance. She obeyed with a quiet huff, clearly understanding that she was a greater liability than an asset thanks to her diminished state of physical ability. That didn't make her happy, though, and he could feel her glare drilling into his helmet.

“Splendid, shall we?” Guilty Spark chirped, zooming towards the panels John had seen earlier. He followed slowly, keeping an eye on his HUD's marker for the redhead. If the situation went south, they'd have to get out quickly. At the control panels, the AI turned back to the human and said, “Unfortunately, my usefulness to this particular endeavor has come to an end. Protocol does not allow units with my classification to perform a task as important as the reunification of the Index with the Core. That final step is reserved for you, Reclaimer.”

“I've got a really bad feeling about this,” Kaine's voice said through John's radio. “Chief, do we have any idea what will happen if you do what that thing is telling you to do? My AI keeps mentioning a weapon, and I think he's talking about the ring itself. Maybe we should analyze the situation a little more.”

“We don't have the time,” John retorted, taking the Index back from Guilty Spark and placing it into the indicated slot. For a moment it looked like something would happen, but then everything stopped. From the way the floating AI was turning around, that was not supposed to happen.

“Odd,” it finally said, managing to sound confused. “That wasn't supposed to happen.”

“ _Oh really?!_ ” Cortana suddenly said, appearing out of nowhere and striking Guilty Spark down, nearly radiating anger and frustration.

“Told you,” the redhead muttered in the back, and John could hear her draw a weapon. He had a feeling she was never going to let him live that moment down. “Chief, if this goes south, I would like to state, for the record, that it is all your fault.”

“Cortana,” John tried to say but was cut off by the obviously irate female. AI she might have been, but being flash cloned from a human brain meant she was infinitely better at emulating emotions, and he was now getting the brunt of them.

“ _I've spent the last twelve hours cooped up in here, watching you toady about, helping that thing get set to slit our throats!_ ” she nearly roared, making absolutely no sense. At least, not to the poor, confused male in the room. Kaine seemed to be in totally agreement if the huff she gave was any indication.

“Hold on now, he's a friend,” the larger Spartan tried again, only to clamp his mouth shut at her glare. Maybe that's why he usually got along with her so well; she was almost identical to his wife, who was desperately trying not to laugh just then.

“ _Oh! I didn't realize_ ,” Cortana said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “ _He's your pal, is he? Your chum? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT BASTARD ALMOST MADE YOU DO?!_ ”

“Yes,” Chief answered slowly once his ears had stopped ringing, valiantly trying to ignore the ODST that was laughing hysterically in the back of the room. “Activate Halo's defenses and destroy the Flood, which is why we brought the Index to the Control center.”

“ _You mean this_?” the blue AI asked, holding up the Index that had vanished into the system. That was the moment Guilty Spark decided to re-enter the conversation, only slightly dented from where he'd hit the ground

“A construct in the core?!” it yelled, outraged and offended. It reminded John of the old style butlers that took greater pride in the house they worked at then the owners did; having a conniption fit if someone tracked in mud. “That is absolutely unacceptable!”

“ _Piss off!_ ” Cortana yelled back, pausing only briefly as Kaine howled in laughter. From the look the AI gave the human female, John knew he would have a lot of explaining to do. Preferably when he wasn't completely confused.

“What impertinence! I shall purge you at once!” Yep, definitely a butler.

“ _You sure that's a good idea?_ ” the female AI asked before the Index vanished.

“How dare you! I'll-I'll...” Finally got the thing speechless.

“ _Do what? I have the Index! YOU CAN JUST FLOAT AND SPUTTER!_ ”

“Enough!” Chief finally yelled, stepping between the two verbal combatants. Turning towards Cortana, he tried to ignore the way all of his hair was standing on edge. His danger instincts had never been as good as Klare's but he could feel what had prompted her to worry now. There was something he'd missed; something vital that would decide who lived and who died. If his AI knew what that detail was, he needed to know. “The Flood is spreading,” he told her. “If we activate Halo's defenses, we can wipe them out.”

“ _You have no idea how this ring works, do you?_ ” she asked, still angry, but now that anger was being projected elsewhere. “ _Why the Forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill Flood,_ it kills their food _! Humans, Covenant, whatever; we're all equally edible. The only way to stop the Flood is to starve them to death, and that's_ exactly _what Halo is designed to do; wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don't believe me? Ask_ him.” She pointed at Guilty Spark and the entire room fell silent. As Chief turned to look at the floating AI, he heard Kaine mutter something about hating it when she was right. In this case, he had to agree with her.

“Is it true?” he asked, deathly serious. The realization of what he'd nearly done made him sick to his stomach.

“...more or less,” the AI finally admitted. “Technically, this Installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of up to 25,000 light years. But, once others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life. Or at least, any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood. But you already knew that. I mean...how couldn't you?”

“ _Left out that little detail, did he?_ ” Cortana sniped, glaring at everyone in the room.

“We have followed outbreak procedure to the letter,” Guilty Spark continued. “You were with me each step of the way as we managed this crisis.”

“ _Chief, I've got movement,_ ” the female AI suddenly said, bowing her head. “ _We have to go now!_ ”

“Chief!” Kaine suddenly yelled, catching the shocked Spartan's attention in time to notice the Sentinels that arrived behind Guilty Spark, their markings switching over to red as they locked weapons on him.

“You asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it?” the alien AI said calmly, reminding John that he had, in fact, asked that. “Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed.” Knowing where this was going, Chief quickly grabbed Cortana's chip and jammed it into his helmet, feeling that familiar sensation of ice water flooding through him as she interfaced with his implants. “There is no choice; we must activate the ring. If you are unwilling to help, I will simply find another. But still, I must have the Index.”

“ _Get...us...out of here!_ ” Cortana pushed, feeling the rage that Chief was experiencing. However, she could also feel a strange build-up of power that she couldn't identify. It reminded her of the files on the first AIs, and how powerful they had become because they'd had no restrictions. The strange thing was, the power wasn't coming from Guilty Spark or any of the Sentinels. Every bit of it was coming from the ODST in the back.

“Surrender your construct, or I will be forced to take it from you,” the floating AI finally demanded, moving right in front of John's face.

“That's not going to happen,” the Spartan grunted back, talking through his teeth with his weapon leveled right at the orb.

“So be it.” Floating back, Guilty Spark turned around and started floating towards Kaine, setting off every mental alarm Chief had. “Save his head, dispose of the rest.” Then, without warning, the AI teleported away and Kaine fell to her knees. That was all John could see before the Sentinels opened fire and he had to dodge out of the way. With the Covenant plasma weapon he'd picked up on a whim, taking out the forerunner weapons was easy. Calming his racing heart as he ran toward his fallen wife, significantly harder.

“Faldon,” he said sharply as he dropped to a knee beside her, noting that she was already struggling to push herself up. “What happened?”

“The voice in my head got pissed,” the redhead groused, reluctantly taking the Spartan's offered aid as she shakily got back to her feet. “On the plus side, he's not talking in alien anymore and has access to the transporting technology.”

“ _Not to interrupt, but we have bigger problems,_ ” Cortana cut in, confused as to why Chief was acting the way he was. According to her analysis of his personality, he shouldn't be this concerned for anyone other than another Spartan. “ _We can't let the Monitor activate the ring. We must stop him; we must destroy Halo._ ”

“ _How?_ ” a male voice suddenly asked, coming from a small port in the ODST's suit. It must have been her AI, though Cortana couldn't pick anything up on scans. Odd. “ _Do you have a plan to destroy the ring, or is your job just to state the obvious?_ ”

“Can't you interact with just one AI without getting hostile?” Kaine sighed as she started trotting towards the exit, John following protectively. “And can we argue as we go? I don't want to be here when Guilty Spark figures out how to transport back.”

“ _I actually do have a plan,_ ” the female AI snapped back as the two humans moved through the halls as fast as they could, taking out Sentinels and Covenant when needed. “ _According to my analysis of the available data, I believe the best course of action is somewhere...risky. An explosion of sufficient size will help destabilize the ring and will cut through a number of primary systems. We need to trigger a detonation on a large scale, however. The starship's fusion reactors going critical would do the job._ ”

“ _Great idea,_ ” the male AI groused. “ _Let's destroy the very thing that is keeping us alive. How about I rephrase my previous question? Do you have a plan that doesn't involve us dying?_ ”

“How about you both shut up?” Kaine half-yelled, dodging another Needler spike. “You're arguing like a married couple.”

“They're arguing like us,” John retorted, smiling behind his HUD because he knew what she would do.

He wasn't disappointed as she actually stopped and gave him her 'you-are-so-lucky-I-love-you' patented look. “I rest my case.”

“ _Wait, what?_ ” Cortana asked, artificial mind racing. “ _What are you two talking about? You're married?_ ” That didn't make any sense; she knew the Spartans were forbidden from getting married. Besides, they didn't have the capability to form those type of deep relationships because of the augmentations. The sibling love they all shared was as powerful as their emotions were going to get. Except, that would explain everything about the strange behavior Chief had been exhibiting.

“ _Great, now I have to erase more data,_ ” the ODST's AI complained before quite suddenly appearing over her left shoulder. The sight was enough to silence the blue female. Black hair, black eyes, white clothes, and a gun; she knew this AI, at least by records, and knew that he was deleted. In fact, it had been a Spartan that had retrieved the deleted data. A female Spartan what was supposed to be good friends with John and had red...hair.

“ _You're 113,_ ” Cortana said in shock, inadvertently freezing Chief's armor and making him fall flat on his face. That proved advantageous as it helped the Spartan avoid a plasma shot, but it also made him bash his face against the inside of the HUD and resulted in a bloody nose. The ODST clearly knew it, and found the fact slightly amusing, if her laugh was any indication. The Spartan with the bloody nose, however, was not amused and proceeded to cuss his AI out in what little Covenant words he knew.

“Let's have the language lesson later, Chief,” Kaine joked, smiling through the blood on her face from a tiny head wound. “And Cortana, I'm sorry.” Before either John or his AI could ask what she meant, the redhead had reached out and grabbed the Spartan's arm to haul him to his feet. That brief contact was all it took for Vincent to infiltrate the suit again and overwrite the records. However, he only briefly brushed against Cortana's data, creating a small wall for the tiniest fraction of a second. Somehow, the information was passed on that the wall allowed Cortana to remember everything she'd learned, but no one else could access it. There was also the understanding that, should she try to betray Klare or Vincent to the UNSC, she would be deleted before she was aware that they knew.

Then the male AI was gone, tucked back into the ODST that was watching them. She didn't say anything, but they knew she was aware of everything that had just happened. “Are we going?” she finally asked when they'd stared too long. “I don't know about you, but I like living, and the longer we stand here, the less likely I will continue to do what I like.”

“ _I'm going to search what's left of the Covenant Battle Net and see if I can locate the_ Pillar of Autumn _'s crash site,_ ” Cortana said, kicking back into gear as the enemies drew closer. With Vincent not offering any other plans, they had to go with hers. “ _If the ship's fusion reactors are still relatively intact, we can use them to destroy Halo._ ” Finally exiting the Command center, the humans walked right into a Covenant ambush, which was unfortunate. Unfortunate for the aliens, that is. Despite the extreme blood loss, Kaine was still a dangerous opponent, and she fit John's style seamlessly. Together, the pair felt like they had nothing to fear.

“ _I haven't located the crash site yet,_ ” the blue AI said after a few seconds, making Chief roll his eyes. Only a data construct would think three seconds was a long enough time to deserve an update in progress. “ _But we need to buy some time,_ ” she continued as the human pair slowly made their way down the pyramid with a mix of jumps and unplanned falls, “ _in case the Monitor or his Sentinels find a way to activate Halo's final weapon without the Index. The machinery in these canyons are Halo's primary firing mechanisms. They consist of three 'phase-pulse' generators that amplify Halo's signal and allow it to fire deep into space. The power levels are enormous; I can't even begin to calculate the pulses range. So, if we damage or destroy these generators, the Monitor will need to repair them before Halo can be used. That should buy us some time._ ”

“Did you have to go into that level of detail to tell us to blow up some generators?” Kaine asked sarcastically as she ran from one protected site to another, wary of the Covenant above her. So far there had been no sign of Flood, but it was only a matter of time. “Chief and I are a special brand of soldiers, Cortana. Point us at a target and say, 'Destroy', and we'll destroy it. No explanation required.”

“ _I'm marking the location of the closest generator with a NAV point,_ ” the AI said, ignoring the human female. “ _We need to move in and neutralize the device. Wait, we should commandeer one of those Banshees; we'll need it to reach the pulse generator in time._ ”

“And that's my cue to part ways,” the ODST sighed, bringing John to a screeching halt. “Face it Chief, I'm not going to be much more help. My head is spinning, my vision is blurred, I can barely stand, and I feel like Death on a soda cracker. You're never going to complete your mission if you're constantly trying to protect me. My AI understands the transport technology enough to get me somewhere safe if you distract the Covenant for a couple minutes.” She looked him right in the eye, seeming to see past the HUD and into his soul. “We knew this day may come, Chief. You have to leave me behind.”

“I can't,” he said, his voice breaking as he vividly recalled the moment when he'd woken from augmentations and saw Mendez weeping over an empty bed, knowing it was Klare's. That was the first time he'd ever left her behind, and he'd sworn it would be his last. But she was right, as she usually was. If he didn't leave her, they were all doomed.

Then, the most amazing thing happened. In the middle of the snow and the blood and the death, Kaine smiled, and John was six-years-old again. “Yes,” she said softly, eyes glinting with just the barest hint of the green he'd thought he'd lost. “You can.” Laying a calloused hand on his arm so that Vincent could block the recordings, she leaned up and gently kissed his helmet, knowing right where his mouth would have been. “Go,” she whispered, tears in her eyes as the Covenant moved closer. “I love you.” Strange, and sad in many ways, that it was the first time she’d ever said that to him. Equally, it was also the first time he could say it back.

“I love you too,” he choked through his own tears, leaning down to rest his helmet against her forehead. Then she was gone, running to shelter as he turned and pelted towards the waiting Banshee. Swinging into the alien craft, he quickly started firing at the approaching enemy, keeping a very careful eye on his wife. It wasn't until he saw a small flash of white and her marker disappeared that he let up his assault, instead spinning the ship to pursue the small NAV point on his HUD. The first location was just above them, and it only took a couple shots to clear the platform so he could safely land. He rushed through the halls, taking out the lone sentry, but coming across no other enemies. Seemed Covenant and Flood weren't aware of how important these devices were.

“ _We need to interrupt the pulse generator's energy stream,_ ” Cortana said gently, realizing just how raw her human's emotional state was. “ _I have adjusted your shield system so that it will deliver an EMP burst and disrupt the generator...but you'll have to walk into the beam to trigger it._ ”

 _That_ made John slam on the brakes just short of the next hatch. “I'll have to do _what_?”

“ _You'll have to walk into the beam to trigger it,_ ” the AI repeated calmly. “ _The EMP blast should neutralize the generator._ ”

“ _Should_?” the Chief demanded. “Whose side are you on?!”

“ _Yours_ ,” Cortana replied firmly, throwing in a mental eye roll for good measure. “ _We're in this together, remember?_ ”

“Yeah, _I_ remember,” the Spartan sighed, stepping through the hatch and waiting to see if anything would object to his presence. Unfortunately, nothing did. “But you're not the one with all the bruises.” This time the AI was silent, allowing the Spartan to approach the glowing beam at his own pace. “I have to walk into that thing?” he finally asked doubtfully, stopping just before the white beam, noting that his HUD had darkened to the maximum level in an attempt to protect his vision. Despite that, his eyes were still stinging from the brightness.

“ _You'll be fine,_ ” Cortana replied soothingly, with just a hint of patronizing to keep it interesting. “ _I'm almost sure of it._ ”

Taking note of the 'almost', John clenched his teeth and reluctantly stepped into the beam. It felt like there was an explosion around him and the floor shook dangerously. Trying to step back out of the danger, he found that there was some resistance, but with a little effort, he pulled himself free and noticed that his shields were depleted and his entire body felt like it had a severe sunburn. And he had to do this two more times? Maybe it was a good thing Kaine had left when she had.

“ _Objective accomplished: the pulse generator is overloaded. The generator's central core is offline; well done._ ” Cortana's words of praise just made Chief huff as he trotted back out of the area, already regretting going with his AI's plan. Why was he always the one to end up with the bruises?

Then he was out on the platform and crawling back into his Banshee, wondering if he should send a message to Kaine. Surely she wouldn't cuss him out for making sure a commanding officer reached safety, right? “ _The second pulse generator is located in the adjacent canyon,_ ” John was informed as he struggled with his vehicle. Why hadn't the Spartans ever received driving lessons?! “ _Move out and I'll mark the target with a NAV point when we get closer._ ” Remembering something about a shortcut through the canyons, Chief turned towards the tunnel and quickly blasted the Covenant troops there to oblivion. The entrance was too small to take the Banshee through, but that was okay. Spartans were happiest on their own two feet.

Several dead Covenant and Flood later, John finally stepped back into the open, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Well, he could pretend it was fresh at least. Of course, being outside didn't stop the enemies, so he continued to fight his way across the bridge. Halfway, he gave up trying to wrestle with his worry and composed a quick message to Faldon and sent it, thanking the UNSC for the cranial implants that allowed him to do everything mentally so he didn't have to pause the fight. The response he got a few steps later made him smile.

First

I'm shocked you had time to worry about anything other than staying alive.

Fine, since you asked, I made it to safety.

Love to chat, but you have work to do.

You also need to get your priorities straight.

First words. I'm. Fine. Love. You. When she'd suggested that code back in training, he'd thought she'd gone mad. Now, it was the best thing she'd ever come up with. Well, after the prank of switching the shampoo in the military supply depot to hair dye. That was still the best, but the code was a close second.

Then there was even more Flood as he went back inside, and John started really missing his wife's presence. She hadn't been the absolute best shot of the Spartans, that was Linda, but she was still an ace. It would have been nice to have her back-up again. That and the fact that she just made everything seem better. He'd noticed it ever since they were kids; he felt like he could conquer planets with her by his side. Taking on a few lousy plant-like aliens would have been a piece of cake.

Inside, outside, repeat, he was really starting to get sick of these repetitive battles. Down lifts, up lifts, through halls, shoot them, punch that, for a moment Chief couldn't help but wonder if he was stuck in some bizarre video game. Then finally, “ _Okay, let's take care of the next pulse generator._ ” Having a NAV point, at last, John grabbed a nearby Ghost and took off, anxious to find a Banshee and finish his mission. When he finally did find a vehicle capable of actual flight, he swung right in and soared away, ignoring the outraged roars behind him. Covenant wasn't exactly happy with his thieving ways, but a few well-placed plasma shots silenced any complaints. A few moments later he was landing on the pad that led to the second generator, blasting any enemy stupid enough to try and attack him. Then it was back inside he went.

This time, the pulse generator was already under attack by Flood, and the Sentinels were trying to control them. Feeling generous, John lent a helping hand, though to which side was unclear, since he shot at Flood and machine alike. Only once everything in the room but him was dead, did he step into the beam. Another flash and boom, another sunburn feeling, and he was able to pull himself free and go racing through the corridors again. There had to be an easier way to make a living. “ _That did it; the pulse generator overloaded. One more to go._ ”

Outside yet again, Chief had barely climbed into the Banshee when Cortana excitedly said, “I _located the_ Pillar of Autumn _. She put down twenty kilometers up-spin. Energy readings show her fusion reactors are still powered up._ ” That was very good news because if they hadn't been, every sentient being in the universe was screwed. How odd to think that innumerable life forms were depending on a single Spartan to save them, and yet every one of those forms, except possibly Kaine, were completely unaware of that fact. “ _The systems on the_ Pillar of Autumn _have fail-safes even I can't override without authorization from the Captain. We'll have to find him, or his neural implants, to start the fusion core detonation. One other target remaining. Let's take care of the final pulse generator. That tunnel leads to the next section of the canyon. The next pulse generator we need to destroy is through there._ ” Indoor flying, anyone? Yes, please.

Not that his flying skills improved in any way inside. Besides, the jammed doors up ahead put an end to his adventure very quickly. More Flood swarms, more explosions, what a sad fact of life that he was now calling life-or-death situations boring and/or routine. It was a good thing he was living the battle because if he'd been watching it play out like a movie or game, he would have fallen asleep.

Back out into the winter wonderland, Chief had to pause and look around. The area looked deserted. Some distant plasma fire indicated conflict somewhere, but there was no sign of a Banshee he could borrow to get to the next generator. At least, not until a random Banshee started firing at him. Still, that wasn't what he needed, so the Spartan carefully made his way through the canyon, trying to avoid notice from any and all enemies. Some attempts worked better than others, but for the most part, he managed to travel through undetected.

Then, finally, he found an unattended Banshee. Of course, the moment he climbed in the Covenant panicked, but by the time they'd thought to aim and fire, he was up and gone. Thanking his armor for being self-heating, he flew through the blizzard and returned to the generator's landing pad, shooting down any enemy ship that thought they could use him for target practice. Then he was out of the ship and racing through the last set of halls to the generator, taking down the Sentinels that thought to stop him.

Standing before the final generator, Chief couldn't help but wonder what would happen next. Would they really be able to find Keyes, destroy their ship, and save everyone? What would happen to all the humans on Halo, especially the redhead that he'd already lost far too many times? Was this path the one that finally made him lose her altogether? Although to be fair, he would probably die too, and the age of the Spartan II's would simply come to an end. With that thought in mind, he finally stepped into the beam and suffered through a final explosion and sun-baking.

“ _Final target neutralized, let's get out of here,_ ” Cortana said happily, barely audible past the ringing in Chief's ears. A small blip on his HUD showed him that he had a new message from Kaine, but he, reluctantly admitted that he didn't have time to read it.

“Let's find a ride and get to the Captain,” he said, knowing they would need the man to overload the ship's fusion reactors.

“ _No,_ ” the AI replied, stopping the Spartan in his tracks, “ _that will take too long._ ”

“You have a better idea?”

“ _There's a teleportation grid that runs throughout Halo; that's how the Monitor moves about so quickly._ ” She wisely left out the part of Kaine and Vincent using the same technology, unsure of how much the recordings still held after the male AI's meddling. “ _I learned how to tap into the grid while I was in the Control center._ ”

“So why didn't you just _teleport_ us to the pulse generators?” John asked, highly annoyed. If he'd known that his AI knew how to use the teleport system, he would have demanded they travel that way and save him all the bruises he'd accumulated.

“ _I can't. Unfortunately, each jump requires a rather consequential expenditure of energy, and I don't have access to halo's power systems to reroute the energy we need._ ” She paused, obviously thinking very quickly, before slowly saying, “ _There may be another way, however._ ”

“Something tells me I'm not going to like this,” John sighed, slumping tiredly. He was stiff, sore, black-and-blue inside his armor, hungry, tired, and his nose still hurt like crazy; now what was his insane AI going to make him do?

“ _I'm pretty sure I can pull the energy from your suit without_ permanently _damaging your shield system or the armor's power cells. Needless to say, I think we should only try this once._ ”

“Agreed,” he sighed. “Tap into the Covenant network and see if you can find the Captain. If we've only got one shot at this, we should make it a good one.”

There was a short moment of silence as Cortana did as requested, before she excitedly exclaimed, “ _I've got a good lock on Captain Keyes' CNI transponder signal. He's alive! And the implants are intact! There's some interference from the cruiser's damaged reactor; I'll bring us in as close as I can._ ”

“Do it,” Chief said, bracing himself for the disorienting flash of blindness. Just before everything faded away, though, he triggered Kaine's message.

By the way, if you two try to teleport...

Then the whiteness disappeared, letting John see the ship he'd just been taken too. He'd just realized that something was very wrong, everything looked upside down, when gravity started working again and he fell, hard. Somehow, he'd rematerialized on the ship's ceiling.

...make sure Cortana reverses the coordinates, or you'll have a headache. Good luck.

...thanks, Kaine. Thanks a lot.

“ _Oh, I see, the coordinate data needs to be-_ ” SMACK! “ _-right, sorry_.” Sighing, Chief could only shake his head, smiling sardonically. Yes, Cortana and Kaine had a lot in common, but he loved them both. Which meant he had to stop thinking about them and focus completely on the mission at hand. After all, he was the only one who could protect the beings he loved.

 


	9. Strike Back Part 1

**Strike Back Pt 1**

Time: 1637\

September 22, 2552\

Aboard Longsword Fighter, Halo debris field

With a heavy sigh, John allowed himself to collapse into the pilot's seat of his Longsword. It wasn't the most comfortable fit in the universe; the seat had been designed for standard Navy personnel, not Spartans and MJOLNIR. Still, a seat was a seat, and he was exhausted. He and his siblings were created to be stronger than any human before them, and an enhanced endurance came with that, but he was at his limits, both physically and mentally. And emotionally, if he was being honest. So much death, so much loss, all crammed into a couple days worth of memories.

The Longsword was orbiting Basis, the nearest moon, and looking out on the debris field of what was once Halo. Now it was all metal, stone, ice, and dust. An empty stretch of space, cluttered with items that could no longer make a whole. Yet John kept staring at that field, hoping that the impossible could happen. “Scan it again,” he told Cortana, voice numb.

“ _Already completed,_ ” her voice answered from the ship's speakers. “ _There's_ nothing _out there. I told you: just dust and echoes._ ” She didn't notice as Chief made a fist and fought the urge to punch something. He knew his temper was short, and for a variety of good reasons. Red Team was likely wiped out on Reach, he'd been fighting Covenant and Flood for days without end, he was stranded in space with Covenant ships just waiting for him to poke his nose out so they could shoot him, and there was an excellent chance that he'd just lost the most important person in his life _again_. So yes, his control over his temper was fraying badly.

“Scan the field again,” he repeated, voice quiet. This time Cortana appeared on the ship's projection pad, arms crossed. Clearly, she was as irritated with him as he was with her. “If you don't find something out there we can use, we're dead,” he snapped, cutting off her argument. “This ship has no way to get back and report. Power, fuel, air, food, water – we only have enough for a few hours. So,” he took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Scan. Again.”

Huffing moodily, the AI disappeared and did as requested, mathematical symbols shooting across the screen. Then, “ _There's still nothing, Chief. All I'm picking up is a strong echo from the moon...but there are no transponder signals and no distress calls._ ”

“You're not doing an active scan?” the human asked, surprised. Surely an AI as intelligent as Cortana would realize that passive scans missed things all the time.

“ _There are trillions of objects out there,_ ” she objected, reappearing on the pad. “ _If you want, I can start to scan and identify each individual piece. If we sit here and do nothing else, that would take eighteen days._ ”

“What if someone's out there, but they turned off their transponder?” John argued, a spark of hope flaring up in him again. “What if they don't want to be found?” It was possible, of course. For crying out loud, it's what they were doing themselves.

“ _That's highly un–_ ” Cortana started, but she froze for a second. The static that had been surrounding her faded and she stared off blankly. “ _Interesting._ ”

Oh, that couldn't be good. “What?”

“ _New data,_ ” the AI said, seeming to snap out of her daze. “ _That signal echo's getting stronger._ ”

“Meaning?”

“ _Meaning it's not an echo._ ” Nope, not good. Which was confirmed when she continued with, “Uh-oh.” Seeing the silhouette of a Covenant cruiser slowly appear from around the moon's far edge, Chief knew they were in trouble again. What else was new?

“Power down!” he snapped, mind racing. “Kill everything except passive scanners and minimal power to keep you online.” The Longsword instantly darkened and Cortana's hologram winked out of existence. John watched tensely as another cruiser appeared, and then another, and then three at once. They moved into the debris field, clearly searching for something. “Status?” he whispered, though he couldn't have explained why. “Have they spotted us?” His hands hovered over the weapons controls, knowing it was pointless. There was no way he could win this fight.

“ _They're using the same scanning frequencies as our system,_ ” Cortana said in his helmet, sounding confused. “ _How strange. No mention of this phenomenon in any of the UNSC or ONI files on the Covenant. Why do you suppose they'd use the same frequencies?_ ”

“Never mind that!” Chief nearly growled, wondering why the hell she was even talking about frequencies. Their lives were in danger! “They're here and looking for something. Like I said before, if there are survivors out there, they'd be powered down.”

“ _I can listen to their echoes,_ ” the AI said, sounding different. It was almost like she'd shut down a part of herself that emulated emotions; maybe she needed to focus on logic? Although it could have been the lower power levels as well. “ _Process active: analyzing Covenant signals. Piggybacking their scans. Diverting more runtime to the task. I'm building a multiplex filtering algorithm. Customizing the current shape-signature recognition._ ” He kept his mouth shut, but the Spartan was seriously starting to wonder why she was talking out loud. She'd been a little off ever since she'd been plugged into the Control Center in Halo, but her erratic behavior was getting very worrisome. Then a new ship appeared, and he didn't have time to worry about his AI. This ship was larger than anything he had ever seen before; he could clearly see enough weaponry to gut any ship the UNSC had. “ _Picking up encrypted transmissions from new contact,_ ” Cortana continued. “ _Descrambling...lots of chatter...orders being given to the cruisers. It appears to be directing the Covenant fleet operations in the system._ ”

“A flagship,” John murmured, eyes wide. “Interesting.” And tempting.

“ _Scan still in progress, Chief. Stand by._ ” Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. With seven enemy ships right in front of his nose, he was going to do something. Pushing off the seat, he drifted to the aft compartment, hoping to find some type of weaponry. He already knew the cryotube was gone, which was strange but manageable. It wasn't like he was planning on freezing himself until help came. However, where the cryotube used to be, there was a new panel that, upon inspection, was a Moray space-mine laying system. That could be useful, but not right that second. Moving on to the weapons locker, the Spartan pried the container open only to find that it was empty. That was very bad, considering he only had an assault rifle and thirteen rounds. Oh, lucky thirteen.

“ _Got something,_ ” Cortana suddenly announced, piercing John's thoughts about how his wife had always joked that 13 was her lucky number. He instead returned to the too small seat, asking to be shown the discovery. On the smallest screen available, a small silhouette appeared of a bullet-shaped cone with maneuvering thrusters on one end. “ _It could be a cryotube,_ ” the AI said. “ _Thruster and power packs can be affixed on their aft sections for emergencies...if a ship has to be abandoned, for example._ ”

“And most of the crew on the _Pillar of Autumn_ never had a chance to be revived from cryo,” the Chief finished. “They could have been jettisoned before the ship went down. Move us toward them. Docking thrusters only.”

“ _Course plotted,_ ” his AI informed him. “ _Thrusters engaged._ ” He could feel the ship accelerate, but just barely. “ _ETA twenty minutes, Chief. But given the Covenant cruisers' current search pattern, I estimate they will encounter the pod in_ five _minutes._ ”

“We need to move faster,” he told her, knowing he was stating the obvious, “but without firing the engines. The drive emissions will show up like a flare on their sensors.”

“ _Hang on,_ ” Cortana told him, not sounding placating, but more ordering. “ _I'll get us there._ ” Suddenly worried about what she was about to do, John snatched up his helmet and put it on, activating the atmosphere seals. Status lights pulsed green and he'd barely given the affirmative to his AI before the aft hatch of the Longsword suddenly breached and slammed open. There was the sound of an explosion as the atmosphere vented violently and the Longsword jumped forward, Chief's head slammed into the back of his helmet. “ _Adjusting course,_ ” Cortana said calmly, deftly ignoring her human's growled curses. “ _ETA two minutes._ ”

“How are we going to stop?” the Spartan asked, eyes stinging with reaction tears from the strike to the back of his head.

“ _Do I have to think of everything?_ ” the AI grumbled as the hatch resealed and the ship attempted to re-pressurize. Then, quite suddenly, one of the Covenant cruisers slowed and turned towards them. “ _Picking up increased scanning signal activity and strength,_ ” Cortana reported. Rough translation: they were being scanned. Again, John's hand hovered over the weapon's control. He knew it was still pointless. That ship outgunned him a hundred to one; he'd be dead before he got off the first volley. “ _Attempting to jam their scanners; that may buy us some time._ ” For a moment the cruiser couldn't seem to make up its mind as it turned away only to turn back and slow, face-to-face with the comparatively tiny Longsword. There it settled, almost like it was waiting. That was good, though. Waiting meant they weren't dead. Even better, the cryotube, which he could now see was actually three tubes lashed together, was much closer. Three possible survivors out of a crew of hundreds wasn't a lot, but it was better than nothing.

“ _New contact,_ ” Cortana chimed, cutting off the Chief's morbid thoughts. “ _I think it is, anyway. Whatever it is, it's stuck onto a chunk of rock, half a kilometer in diameter. Damn, it just rotated out of my view._ ” On the screen, she pulled up a partial silhouette and, after some sharpening, overlaid it onto a schematic of a Pelican. “ _Match with a tolerance of fifty-eight percent,_ ” she announced. “ _They might have parked there to avoid detection, as you suggested._ ” There was just a hint of irritation like she was angry that her human had thought of something she hadn't. “ _Or, more likely, the craft merely crashed there._ ”

“I don't think so,” John argued, pointing at a spot on the display. “The position of that wing indicates it's nose-out – ready for takeoff. If it had crash-landed, it would be faced the other way.”

Another Covenant ship started moving, but this one was headed toward the new ship. “ _Coming about, Chief,_ ” Cortana warned. “ _Brace yourself, and then get ready to retrieve the pods._ ” Unhooking his harness, John drifted toward aft, grabbing the tether and clipping it into his suit. The other end attached to the Longsword's bulkhead just before the maneuvering thrusters fired up and spun the ship around. “Decompression in three seconds.” Not wanting to get blown right out the hatch, the Spartan climbed part way into the empty weapons locker and braced. Still, when Cortana opened the aft hatch and everything exploded outwards, he left a dent in the several-centimeters-thick Titanium-A.

Climbing out of the locker, John only waited long enough for his AI to supply his HUD with a NAV point before he jumped out of the ship. He was only thirty meters away from the pods, but he noticed quickly that his trajectory was wrong. Knowing there was no second chance, he tried pulling his left knee closer to his chest, going into a slow tumble. Arms outstretched, he tried to ignore the fact that he was a sitting duck. The Covenant ships were still coming and, so long as he was outside the ship, Cortana couldn't move them away. However, he couldn't focus on that. Every last ounce of his attention was on the tubes and how to grab them. So he kept reaching, feeling his elbows pop and his fingers burn.

Feeling his fingertips brush the metal surface of the first tube, John realized he was going to miss. Then he was brushing the second tube and he still couldn't get any purchase. As the final pod drifted past he gave one last desperate attempt – and a single finger managed to hook on to the frame. He had them. Quickly swinging up and onto the pods, he looped the tether around them and started pulling everything back to the Longsword.

“ _Hurry, Chief,_ ” Cortana said urgently. “ _We've got trouble._ ” Glancing over his shoulder quickly, he saw what she meant. The cruisers were accelerating toward him and their weapons were warming up. He pulled as fast as he could, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. There was just too much distance to traverse and Cortana couldn't help him. The Covenant ships were finally in firing range, and John could feel his life coming to an end. In that last moment, he closed his eyes and tried to remember Klare's face.

However, something told him to open his eyes again. He did so just in time to see three missiles impact on the side of the closest enemy ship. No damage was done because of the shields, but it certainly got their attention. Turning around, Chief saw the Pelican blast away from the asteroid it had been hiding on and speed into a perpendicular course with the Covenant ships. When the enemy turned to hunt down the live prey instead, the Spartan knew he had his time and couldn't waste it.

With a final yank on the tether, John and the pods nearly flew into the Longsword, crashing into the deck. The second they were inside, Cortana closed the aft hatch and fired up the engines, planning on getting them the hell out of there. Chief barely managed to get into the system-ops seat before they accelerated and spun to face their enemies. However, Covenant was paying them no mind. Instead, the aliens were focused on the Pelican that was moving about the dense debris field like it was the easiest thing in the world. Whoever the pilot was, they had to be phenomenal. Any shots fired at the fast moving ship instead impacted on debris, creating an interesting game of cat-and-mouse.

“ _Whoever's piloting that Pelican knows their stuff,_ ” Cortana said, sounding vaguely impressed.

“We owe them a favor,” John retorted, firing the guns, even though he knew they wouldn't do much good. “Let's settle that debt.”

“ _You realize that we really can't damage those Covenant ships,_ ” the AI remarked dryly. John could almost feel the look she would give him if she'd been in her image form. Seriously, she was way too much like Klare.

“We'll see about that,” he argued as the enemy ships turned to face them again. “Get me a firing solution for the missiles. I want them to target their plasma turrets just before they fire. They have to drop a section of their shields for a fraction of a second.”

“ _Working on it._ ” Chief tried, he really did, but he couldn't stop the smirk on his face. Seemed the old Spartan motto was rubbing off on his digital friend. “ _Without precise data, however, I'll have to base my calculations on several assumptions._ ” Mathematical symbols starting shooting by on his weapons-ops panel, making absolutely no sense to the Spartan, but he assumed she knew what she was doing. “ _Give me fire control._ ”

“It's yours,” he replied, hitting the override on the firing systems. He could see the Covenant's plasma turrets turn to track them, warming up as the Longsword got closer. A second later, Cortana fired all of the Longsword's ASGM-10 missiles. White trails suddenly appeared, heading right for their targets. “Let's move!” Chief called, not wanting to be nearby when the weapons detonated. Moving quickly, they followed after the Pelican. The aft camera showed that three of the missiles were destroyed, but the rest made impact just before the plasma turrets fired. For a second the Spartan thought the attack had failed as the weapons detonated outside the shield, but then he noticed that the explosion was contained _inside_ the shields. That multiplied the damage done, until the ship listed to port, completely blind and badly damaged.

“ _That should keep them busy for a while,_ ” Cortana said smugly. Considering the work she had done, John decided to let her have her moment. At least, until a sudden plasma shot from the other ship nearly hit them. “ _Or not,_ ” the AI muttered angrily. “ _Better let me drive._ ” Without waiting for his reply, she took over the ship and the controls lurched out of Chief's hands. Rather than complain at her, the Spartan just held on for dear life. He knew she was a good pilot and more than capable of keeping them safe, but for how long? The Longsword and Pelican hide a finite amount of fuel, and they'd run out eventually, allowing Covenant to kill them at leisure. Besides, where could they go? Neither ship had Slipspace capabilities.

Pulling up the scanners, John frantically looked for something that would give him a tactical advantage before pulling himself up short. Thinking of tactics would get them all killed. There was no _tactical_ advantage they could gain, but he could possibly change the rules. He could change _strategies_. And when he scanned the Covenant flagship, he knew how to do it. Keying the COM system, he hailed the Pelican. “This is Master Chief Spartan-One-One-Seven. Recognition code Tango Alpha Three Four Zero. Copy.”

“ _Copy,_ ” a female voice replied. “ _Warrant Officer Polaski here. Damn good to hear you, Chief._ ” In the background, John could hear voices arguing, including one that sounded vaguely familiar.

“Polaski, proceed at maximum burn to this position,” he ordered, dropping a NAV point on the display and sending it to her. Remembering at the last second that she wasn't a Spartan and, therefore, couldn't exactly read his mind, he included an exit vector to indicate a very rough course. However, there was only silence over the COM. “Copy, Polaski?”

“ _I copy. Plotting course now, Chief._ ” The voices in the background had gotten louder and more strained; clearly, the other people on the Pelican were not happy about something. “ _I hope you know what you're doing. Polaski out._ ” The connection snapped shut.

“Get us there, Cortana,” John ordered, tapping the NAV point. “As fast as you can make this thing fly.” The ship plunged and lurched as she maneuvered them closer to Basis, the system's moon.

“ _You_ do _know what you're doing?_ ” Cortana asked, sounding perfectly at ease as the Longsword groaned in complaint. “ _I mean, we're headed straight toward the largest and most dangerous Covenant ship in this system. I assume this is part of some daring and brutally simplistic plan you've cooked up?_ ”

“Yes.”

“ _Oh, good. Hang on._ ” A nearby explosion made the ship shake, but no alarms started blaring, so John assumed they were still relatively safe. “ _Looks like your 'plan' has gotten their attention. I'm reading all six Covenant cruisers moving to overtake us at flank speed._ ”

“And the Pelican?”

“ _Still there. Taking heavy fire. But still on trajectory to the NAV point...moving slower than us, of course._ ” Noting the strange pauses she was taking, Chief filed it away for future pondering, assuming they had a future.

“Adjust our speed so we arrive at the same time,” he ordered, frantically double-checking his plan. It was so insane, it just might work. “When you're in range for a secure system link, let me know.” The ship slowed as Cortana obeyed, still dodging enemy fire. It was a good thing Spartans didn't usually get motion sickness.

“ _You never told me precisely what your plan is,_ ” the AI informed him, sounding equally indifferent and irritated.

“Something Captain Keyes would approve of,” he replied shortly, summoning the navigation console. “If we survive long enough, I want a course from here,” he tapped the NAV point over the flagship, “into the gravity well of Basis to slingshot us around.”

“ _Done,_ ” Cortana instantly said, still irritated. “ _I still – Hey, they've stopped firing._ ”

Glancing at the aft camera, John saw she was right and smiled sardonically. “I was counting on this. We're on the same line of fire as their flagship. They won't shoot.”

“ _Pelican now twelve hundred kilometers and closing. Within range for a system link._ ”

Hailing the Pelican again, the Spartan forewent pleasantries and said, “Polaski, release your controls. We're taking over.”

“ _Chief?_ ”

“Establish encrypted system link. Acknowledge.” There was a long pause where John worried that his order would be denied. Then...

“ _Roger._ ”

Cortana's hologram reemerged and she seemed to listen for a moment before nodding firmly. “Got them.”

“Synchronize our courses, Cortana. Put us right on top of the Pelican.”

“ _Maneuvering to intercept the Pelican. Five hundred kilometers to flagship._ ”

“Prepare to alter our course, Cortana, as we pass the flagship. Also, get ready to direct all scanners at the flagship if we pass.”

“ _If_?”

The flagship's turrets turned to lock on the Longsword and Pelican, glowing like the angry eyes of Earth's ancient demons. The ships were three hundred kilometers apart when light started to sparkle across the enemy ship, warning of their impending fire. Red plasma started gathering as three torpedoes were launched and raced towards them. John wasn't even able to give the order before Cortana deftly maneuvered them out of harm's way. It was exactly what the Chief had been hoping for. Their oblique angle and speed made them nearly impossible to hit, even for the notoriously accurate Covenant plasma weapons.

“ _Ten kilometers,_ ” Cortana reported calmly. “ _Scanning in burst mode._ ” At their speed, the two UNSC ships seemed to flash over the larger enemy craft. They were moving too fast for the Covenant weapons to track, allowing Chief to finally release the breath he'd been holding.

“Good,” he breathed, resisting the urge to close his eyes for a second. “Very good.”

“ _Burning into a high slingshot orbit,_ ” the AI announced as they passed the alien ship. The Longsword's engine rumbled angrily and the rapid acceleration wreaked havoc with Chief's inner ear, leaving him unaware of which way was up. Not a pleasant experience.

“Bring us closer to the Pelican,” he ordered through the disorientation. “Right on top. Give me a hard dock on its top access hatch.”

Cortana obeyed, but when her hologram put her hands on her hips, he knew she wasn't happy about his latest orders. What else was new? “ _Readjusting burn parameters. But you know a linked-ship configuration during an orbital burn is not stable._ ”

“We won't be linked for long,” John argued distractedly, slipping out of his harness. He drifted aft, pulling himself down to the floor and opening the Longsword's access hatch. Seeing the green lights winking at him, he removed the safeties and popped the seal. A hand reached up through and John pulled them in...and instantly froze.

Less than a second later, the Spartan's reflexes kicked back into gear. He grabbed the other's uniform, kicked the hatch shut, and shoved the person against the hull. With the super-speed motions his family was known for, he pulled the newcomer's pistol out and aimed it squarely at their head.

“You were dead,” he growled, eyes narrow. “I _saw_ you die. On Jenkins' mission record. The Flood got you.”

“The Flood? Hell, Chief, it'll take more than that pack of walking alien horror-show freaks to take out Sergeant A. J. Johnson.”

Holding on to the ship's frame with one hand, John pushed the pistol deeper into the black man's forehead. The smile faded off the Marine's face, but there was no fear in his eyes. Dammit, all; Chief hated snags! “I get it,” Johnson snorted, still amused. “You think I'm infected. Well, I'm not. This,” he patted his chest, “is one hundred percent grade-A Marine and nothing else.”

Slowly, the Spartan eased out of his aggressive stance, but he didn't lower the gun. “Explain how that's possible,” he ordered.

“They got us all right, those little mushroom-shaped infectious bastards,” Johnson said easily. “They ambushed me, Jenkins, and Keyes.” He paused for a second, but still shook his head and continued. “They swarmed all over us. Jenkins and Keyes were taken...but I guess I didn't taste too good.”

“ _The Flood doesn't 'taste' anything,_ ” Cortana interrupted, sounding scandalized. “T _he Infection Forms rewrite a victim's cellular structure and convert him or her into a Combat form, then later a Carrier form – an incubator for Infection forms. Based on what we've seen, they certainly don't just decide to pass up a victim._ ”

Shrugging, the Sergeant fished around in his pockets until he found a half-chewed cigar and stuck it in his mouth. “Well, _I've_ seen different. They 'passed me up' like I was undercooked spinach at a turkey dinner.”

“Cortana,” Chief cut in, “is it possible?” Because, really, after everything they'd been through the last few days, he was willing to accept anything that was possible, no matter how unlikely.

“ _It's_ possible _, but it's also highly unlikely._ ” She was silent for a few seconds before, “ _According to the readings from the Sergeant's biomonitors, his story checks out. I can't be one-hundred percent positive until he's been cleared in a medical suite, but preliminary findings indicate that he is clean of any Flood parasitic infection. He's obviously not a mindless alien killing machine._ ”

“Alright,” Chief said easily, clicking the pistol's safety back to 'on' and flipping it around to hand back to its owner. “But I'm having you checked inside and out the first chance we get. We can't risk letting the Flood infection spread.”

“I hear you, Master Chief,” Johnson said, accepting the weapon and pushing off the hull. “Looking forward to those Navy nurses. Now, let's get the rest of the crew on board.” He glanced at the cryotubes that were floating innocently. “I see you already picked up a few stragglers.”

“They'll have to wait,” John tried not to sigh. “It'll take half an hour to thaw them out without risking hypothermic shock. We don't have that much time left before we re-engage the Covenant.”

“Re-engage,” the Sergeant repeated, clearly relishing the word. “Good. For a second I thought we were running away from a perfectly good fight.” Opening the hatch again, the Marine grabbed the MA5B barrel that was shoved through and pulled up the next soldier. Chief knew right away that he was going to have issues with this one. The name on the uniform was 'Locklear', and the gold ODST insignia on his shoulder meant it was going to be an uphill fight. Klare might have had the loyalty of every ODST in the UNSC, but in general, Spartans and ODSTs got along about as well as fire and gasoline.

“Clear,” Locklear yelled down the hatch, after sweeping the Longsword's interior with his weapon at the ready. Obviously, he was still wired for a fight.

“At ease, Corporal,” John ordered, trying to avoid a full-blown confrontation. He knew he failed when the soldier looked at him and shook his head in disgust.

“A Spartan,” he muttered, eyes narrow. “Figures. Out of the friggin' frying pan–” Must have been one of Major Silva's boys. Silva had been a true ODST and had had a very negative opinion of Spartans in general and Chief specifically. As if John's life wasn't hard enough just then.

Another man hauled himself through the ship's hatch. He had a plasma pistol strapped to his side and wore a black uniform with the black enameled bars of a First Lieutenant. “Sir!” Chief snapped a crisp salute, or as close to one as he could perform in zero gravity.

“ _Adjusting burn and angle,_ ” Cortana called, amusement in her voice. The Longsword and Pelican tilted slightly. “ _That should give you a little more than one gee on the deck._ ”

Settling on the floor, the officer returned the Spartan's salute in a relaxed manner. “I'm Haverson,” he introduced, a small smile on his face. “You are the Master Chief, Spartan 117.” Startled, John looked again and saw the other insignia on the man's uniform. A black and silver eagle over a trio of stars with the words 'Semper Vigilans'. ONI. Well, that explained a lot. “Good. With you, Chief, we might have a chance.” Reaching back into the Pelican, Haverson pulled the next person through.

This one was a female, and she wore the uniform of a pilot. Already knowing who she had to be, Chief nodded to her as she settled on the deck and saluted. “Warrant Officer Polaski, requesting permission to come aboard, Master Chief.”

“Granted,” he replied, returning her salute. He noticed the mark on her uniform; the flaming fist over the red bull's-eye was the mark of the Twenty-third Naval Air Squadron. She was from the same group as 'Foehammer', indicating that she was more than just a skilled pilot. If she was anything like her Squadmates, she was fearless too. “Now, we have –”

“Hold up, Chief,” Johnson cut in, smiling. “We got one more.” Reaching through the hatch, he grabbed something and hauled the last soldier through. John noticed this ODST insignia immediately, as well as the four stars on the shoulder. Seemed Haverson wasn't the highest ranking member of the group.

Then the ODST looked at him, face obscured behind the HUD and laughed. “I thought I recognized your voice.” Shock raced through the Spartan as he watched the soldier tug their helmet off, revealing red hair and silver eyes. “Master Chief. You look better than the last time I saw you.”

“So do you, Commander Faldon,” John replied, glad his helmet hid the huge grin on his face, or he'd have a lot of questions he couldn't answer. Still, he couldn't resist from reaching out and shaking her hand, hoping she understood what he wanted to say. From the smile on her face, she probably did.

“So what's the story?” Locklear suddenly barked, scowling darkly. “We got something to shoot here?” Kaine rolled her eyes, clearly used to his behavior as she leaned against the bulkhead. Chief had a feeling she wasn't going to mediate between him and the high-strung ODST.

“At ease, Marine,” Johnson growled. “Use that stuffing between your ears for something besides keeping your helmet on. Notice we're not floating? Feel those gee forces? This ship is in a slingshot orbit. We're coming around the moon for another crack at the Covenant.”

“That's correct,” Chief announced, aware that Kaine was giving him an incredulous look. Okay, okay, it wasn't his best thought out plan, but he'd done harder. Although come to think of it, she gave him that look those times in training too. Maybe it was just what they did. He came up with suicide plans and she gave him that look before figuring out how to make it all work.

“Our first priority should be to escape,” the ONI officer argued, frowning. “Not to blindly engage the Covenant. We have valuable intelligence on the enemy, and on Halo. Our first priority should be to reach UNSC-controlled space.”

“That was my intention, sir,” John soothed. “But neither this Longsword nor your Pelican is equipped with Shaw-Fujikawa engines. Without a jump to Slipspace, it would take years to return.”

“That does limit our options, doesn't it?” Haverson sighed, and then he did something no one should ever do. He turned his back on the Master Chief, unaware that the Spartan instantly stiffened. Every Spartan had had respect for the chain of command beat into them within a month of their capture, but that respect only went so far. No Spartan liked having anyone turn their back on them, and none of them approved of officers that instantly assumed they were in charge. John had his orders and he was going to follow them, with or without ONI's approval.

“Pardon me, sir,” the Chief said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice. “I must point out that while you outrank me, I am on a classified mission of the highest priority. My orders come directly from High Command.”

“Meaning?” A quiet thud told John that Kaine had just hit her head against the bulkhead. She knew what happened when officers challenged the Master Chief.

“Meaning,” the Spartan stressed, holding on to the fraying ends of his temper, “I have tactical command of this crew, these ships, and _you_. Sir.”

For a second, Chief was sure the ONI officer would argue, but then his expression smoothed out and he smiled faintly. “Of course. I am well aware of your mission, Chief. I'll do anything I can to assist.” Yeah, because that wasn't creepy at all.

“Hey!” Locklear cut in, doing an amazing impersonation of a thunder cloud. “If anyone should be in charge, it's Commander Faldon. She's the ranking officer on this ship!” John frowned himself, realizing the ODST was right. He was so used to Klare following his command, he had spaced the fact that Kaine didn't have to. In fact, Kaine challenged him more than Klare ever had. It wasn't too much of a stretch to bully a Lieutenant into obeying him, but a full General was a different story.

“Locklear,” Kaine suddenly said sharply, catching all of their attention. “Leave me out of this.” Her face was stormy as she glared at her ODST, but John could see how tired she was. She was holding on by her fingertips, and he didn't want to push her over.

Silence descended on the ship until Locklear grumbled, “So what's the plan? Slingshot orbit, then what? We just going to talk all day, Chief?”

“No,” John replied, taking any victory he could. He knew he had to establish his authority over the volatile ODST soon, so he might as well start right then. “Get into the Pelican,” he ordered the younger man. “We only have a few minutes while we're on the far side of this moon. Grab anything we can use: extra weapons, ammunition, grenades. Keep linked up to my COM so you can hear the briefing.” As expected, Locklear didn't move. Johnson opened his mouth to say something, but Chief cut him off with a subtle gesture. Taking a step closer, he leaned over the smaller soldier. “Was my order unclear, _Corporal_?”

Clearly intimidated but unwilling to admit it, the ODST glanced in Kaine's direction, but all he got was a glare. “Don't look to me,” his commander huffed. “I follow the Master Chief.” There must have been something in her gaze because Locklear slumped as the fire in his eyes faded away.

“No,” he told the Spartan, finally shouldering his weapon. “I'm on it, Master Chief.” Quietly, he went back to the hatch and dropped inside.

“So how do we get a Shaw-Fujikawa drive?” Polaski asked, trying to move past the tense moment left behind.

“We don't,” Chief told her. “But we go after the next best thing.” He moved towards the ops console and tapped the display where the scan of the Covenant flagship was. “This is our objective.”

“Chief, if we approach that ship we'll be blow out of the sky before we can even think about engaging them,” Haverson argued, frowning again. That seemed to be his default face.

“Normally, yes,” John agreed easily. “But we're going to rig the Pelican as a fireship – we load it with Moray mines and sent it out ahead of us. We'll have to remote-pilot the Pelican, but it can be accelerated past the point where a crew would black out. It'll draw enemy fire, drop a few mines, and let us slip by.” He didn't miss the frown on Polaski's face and had a feeling he knew what it was about, but he had to ask, “Is there a problem, Warrant Officer?”

“No, Master Chief,” she shook her head, reluctantly resigned. “I just hate to lose a good ship. That bird got us off Halo in one piece.” It was an understandable sentiment. Pilots tended to get attached to their ships, going so far as giving them names and personalities. John could still remember 'Old Betty' back in training. There wasn't a Spartan alive that hadn't feared for their lives every time they climbed into the damn thing, especially as its pilot was just shy of insane. However, that attachment trap was something John avoided at all costs. In war, all equipment was expendable, except, maybe, certain AIs like Cortana or Vincent.

“So we get close to the flagship,” ONI grunted, crossing his arms. “Are we going nose to nose with a ship a thousand times our firepower? Or are you planning another flyby?”

“Neither.” Wistfully thinking about how the entire briefing would already be done if everyone would stop interrupting him, Chief pointed to the enemy ship's launch bay. “That's our LZ.”

“Of course it is,” Kaine sighed, coming over to take a closer look while Polaski squinted at the display and muttered under her breath. “You've never taken the easy road, have you?” Still, she wasn't giving him her Look-of-Doom, so she must have thought there was a chance.

“They'll launch Seraph fighters to engage the Pelican and Longsword,” John explained to everyone else, “and to do that, they'll have to drop that section of their shields. We get in, neutralize the crew, and we have a ship with Slipspace capability.”

“ _Rock 'n' roll!_ ” Locklear called over the COM, echoing slightly from the hatch as well. “ _Penetrate and annihilate!_ ” Johnson was also nodding as he chewed on his cigar, clearly willing to give anything a try. Only Haverson was unmoved.

“No one has ever captured a Covenant ship,” the ONI officer reminded them all. “The few times we've had one of them beaten and in a position to surrender, they've self-destructed.”

“There's no choice,” Chief insisted, glaring behind his HUD. He'd been trying to come up with a better plan since this one popped into his head; couldn't they see this was their only chance? “Unless anyone has a better plan?” Silence. “Anything to add, Cortana?”

“ _Our exit orbit burn leaves us low on fuel and traveling at high velocity on an intercept course with the flagship. There are overlapping fields of enemy fire on our approach vector. We have to decelerate and dodge simultaneously. That will be tricky. Also, hello Commander Faldon._ ”

“Polaski will be piloting,” the Spartan said, noting his wife give the AI hologram a smile and a small wave. Well, at least they were getting along now.

“Pilot a Longsword?” Polaski asked, but John could already see the determination growing in her eyes. “It's been a while, but yes, Master Chief. I am one hundred and ten percent on it.” Without waiting for orders, she swung into the pilot seat and strapped herself in, fitting a lot better than the massive Spartan ever had.

“ _With all due respect to Miss Polaski's skill,_ ” Cortana argued, “ _allow me to point out that I process information a million times faster and–_ ”

“I need you to link with the flagship's intraship battlenet,” Chief cut in. “When we're close you'll need to shut down its weapons. Jam its communications.”

“ _Sending an unescorted lady ahead to do your dirty work?_ ” the AI teased. “ _I suppose I'm the only one who can._ ” She did pause, though, when her hologram flickered. For just a second, John had noticed a second AI standing behind her. From the irritated scowl on Kaine's face, as she rubbed at her temple, Vincent had come to help.

“Lieutenant Haverson, I'll need you to program the Moray mines to release and attach onto the Pelican before we exit this orbit. Set half for detonation on impact. Program the rest to detach and track any enemy ship on our approach.” With a simply nod, the ONI spook settled himself into the ops station and got to work.

Just as John was starting to think that everything was set, two crates and a large duffel back was pushed through the hatch, followed closely by Locklear. “That's it, Chief,” the ODST said as he sealed the hatch behind him. “An HE pistol, two extra MA5Bs, one M90 Close Assault shotgun, and a crate or so of frag grenades. About a dozen clips for the rifles; only a few shells for the shotgun, though.”

Feeling like a kid at Christmas, Chief gladly grabbed four grenades and a handful of ammo clips. He could actually feel his anxiety drop as he slapped a full magazine into his weapon. Spartans were trained to not depend on anything, but they got very twitchy when they were low on ammo. That's why the large soldier was surprised when Kaine only grabbed two clips and no grenades. Even Johnson took more than her.

“Orbital exit burn in ten seconds,” Polaski warned, voice tight as she concentrated.

“Dog the rest of that,” John told Locklear, “and brace yourself.” The ODST scrambled to obey, securing the weapons before quickly finding a handhold. Chief grabbed the bulkhead tightly and didn't complain when Kaine took hold of _him_ , but he was uneasy when the Sergeant simply leaned against the cryopods.

“Releasing Pelican,” Polaski warned just before a thump echoed through the Longsword. “Pelican away.”

“ _Pelican autopilot programmed,_ ” Cortana informed them, nearly covering up Haverson's report that the Moray mines were attached and armed.

Then came the words everyone was waiting for. “Exit burn in three...two...one. _Burn!_ ”

With a snap and a roar, the Longsword's engines came back to life. The hull groaned and creaked as they accelerated, everyone leaning against the pull. As planned, the Pelican pulled ahead as it rounded the moon's horizon and sped back into the debris field. But when the Longsword followed, a band of light struck the moon, sending up a cloud of meteors and dust. “They were waiting for us!” Polaski called, quickly changing camera angles. “Evasive maneuvers.” The Pelican rolled and swerved ahead of them, almost appearing to be drunk. “Accelerating to the flagsh–it.”

The flagship was much closer than they'd expected. It must have anticipated their orbital trajectory and was in the perfect position to perform a flawless perpendicular fire package. Except, the Covenant hadn't considered the idea that the Longsword would turn straight toward them. “Pelican now two hundred kilometers in the lead,” the pilot reported. Anyone looking at the cameras could see that the bulky craft was taking a lot of fire and parts had already been vaporized, but it kept moving forward.

“Mines away,” ONI announced, voice calm despite everything around him. “Plugging coordinates and trajectories into the NAV, Polaski. Don't run them over.”

“Roger,” she shot back, rolling her shoulders in a way that made Chief suddenly worry. “Hang on – we're going in.”

“I hate this crap,” Locklear muttered. “Ships shooting each other, fire so thick you could walk on it to the LZ, and me sittin' here, not able to do a damn thing but hang on and wonder when I'm going to get blown up.” John didn't say anything, but he found himself in agreement. It was a feeling that all Spartans shared, and from the quiet grumbles behind him, Kaine was the same. Strange, since she had always been the best of the group when it came to space combat. Her danger sensing was of more use in the vacuum of space when danger can slip up unnoticed.

“Amen,” Johnson said in reply to Locklear, “now shut up and let the lady drive.” Taking a mission record unit from one of his many pockets, the Sergeant inserted a chip nonchalantly. To Chief's surprise, the screen of the unit went blank and some strange cacophony of noise burst from the tiny speaker. He vaguely recognized it as 'flip' music, a modern version of something called 'metal'. There were stranger music tastes, but the Sergeant clearly had peculiar ones.

“Just shoot me now, Sarge,” the younger ODST complained, “and get it over with. Don't torture me with that crap first.”

“Suck it up, Marine. This is a _classic_.”

“So's a mercy killing.”

“Stow it, Locklear,” Kaine barked, still holding onto John's arm. “I'm not in a generous mood, so one more word out of you that doesn't have to do with the mission and you'll find yourself assigned as O'Brien's secretary for the next year.” To the Spartan's shock, the ODST instantly shut up, actually hunkering into the wall to appear smaller. That was...slightly impressive.

“I have to meet this O'Brien person,” he told Kaine over a private line, not wanting anyone to overhear. Despite the fact that the ship was still rolling and pitching about, his lips twitched into a smile when he heard his wife laugh. Dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

“You'd love him,” she replied, carefully leaning into John to keep her balance. “He's obsessed with keeping me safe and threatens to blow me out of airlocks when I refuse to go to the infirmary. If we make it back to UNSC space, he's probably going to try to put a leash on me.”

“ _Connecting to the Covenant battlenet,_ ” Cortana announced. “ _Accessing their weapons systems. Stand by._ ”

With an almost audible shriek, the Pelican ahead burst into flames and vaporized as it intercepted a torpedo. The flagship appeared on the viewscreen, scarcely bigger than a dinner plate. “No more time to play around,” Polaski muttered darkly, eyes narrowed in anger. No pilot liked seeing their ship destroyed, and she wanted revenge. With no warning, she hit the afterburners and the Longsword leapt forward, straight for the flagship. The sudden acceleration had Chief, Kaine, and Johnson bouncing to the aft of the ship while Locklear held on to the frame for dear life, nearly horizontal.

“ _There is now insufficient distance to decelerate and make a soft landing inside the flagship launch bay,_ ” Cortana warned, though her voice was flat. Clearly, she didn't have a lot of concentration to spare, even with Vincent's help.

“Really?” Polaski snapped, irritated. “No wonder they call you 'smart' AIs.” She tugged her cap lower, nearly covering her eyes. “ _I'll_ do the flying. _You_ concentrate on getting those weapons offline.”

“They're launching fighters,” Haverson warned, having kept mostly silent. The smaller ships appeared on the viewscreen a second later, dwarfed by the flagship that took up nearly half the display. “I've still got active signals from twenty of the Moray mines. Their momentum is carrying them within range. Tracking...locked on...maneuvering.” Tiny puffs of fire suddenly covered the six Seraph fighters that had launched, and the ships exploded. “Bull's-eye!”

“ _Forward weapons systems and shields are disabled,_ ” Cortana reported.

“The doors are open,” Polaski drawled, a cruel smile on her face. “We're invited in. It'd be damn impolite to say no.”

By that point, the flagship filled the display. “This is going to hurt,” Kaine sighed as Cortana warned that a collision was imminent. For reasons unknown, Johnson got to his feet. Knowing better, Chief stayed right on the deck where he was, grabbing the Sergeant's leg in a death grip while his wife shifted to cling to his back like a monkey. She was right; this was going to hurt.

Polaski cut the engines and hit the maneuvering thrusters, forcing the Longsword to spin 180 degrees. Once the ship was pointed backwards, she pushed the throttle all the way up. The engines were thundering in full overload as the hull strained around them, threatening to tear in half. John held on to the floor with one hand and the Sergeant with the other, trying very hard not to be thrown about. His armor was the best in the UNSC, but he would still be black and blue if he lost his grip now. “Hang on – hang on!” Polaski yelled, trying valiantly to slow them down.

It wasn't enough. The ship entered the bay at what Chief estimated to be three hundred meters per second. In a last ditch attempt to save them, Polaski cut the power and the Longsword slammed into the wall. The impact was strong enough to dislodge everyone in the cabin, sending them crashing into the pilot and ops seats in a heap. “Called it,” Kaine groaned as she disentangled herself and stepped free of the pile. “I'm going to feel that for the next month.” Then, smiling, she winked at the dazed Polaski. “Nice flying.”

“ _Shield reenergizing in place over the launch bay,_ ” Cortana announced chirpily as everyone struggled to untangle themselves. “ _External atmosphere stabilizing. Please feel free to get up and move around the cabin._ ”

“Yeah!” Locklear cried, springing free of the heap and grabbing his weapon. “Let's rock.” He then yelped when his commander smacked him on the back of his head.

“Good work, people,” John said as he got to his feet. Readying his weapon, he tried to wipe the smirk off his face. “But that was just the easy part.”

“You think?” Faldon drawled, gesturing to the windshield where plasma bolts were washing over the glass. Outside the ship, a legion of Grunts was firing at them. “Any new plans, Super Soldier?”

“I got 'em!” Polaski called, flipping a switch on the dash. With a protesting groan, the Longsword's landing gear deployed and raised the ship about a meter off the deck, freeing the ship's guns. “Guns clear. Bye, boys.” With no more fanfare, she squeezed the trigger and a hail of 120mm rounds tore through everything the Grunts were using for cover. Some of those rounds apparently hit something combustible, as an explosion was triggered and fire swept through the bay.

“ _Fire suppression system activating,_ ” Cortana reported as jets of grey mist started coming out of the ceiling. For a second the flames flared, but then they folded in on themselves and vanished.

“Is there atmosphere in the bay?” John asked, giving his wife a look through the helmet. Testament to all their years together, she got the message clearly and signed back, 'Over my dead body' as she pulled her helmet back on. Okay, so having her hang back wasn't going to work. Dammit.

“ _Scanning,_ ” the blue AI replied. “ _Traces of ash, some contamination from the melted ship hulls, and a lot of smoke, but the air in the bay is breathable, Chief._ ”

“Good.” He turned to the others, mind racing. “We're going in. I'll lead. Locklear, you're with me. Sergeant, you and Commander Faldon have got the rear.” Steadfastly ignoring the invisible daggers being thrown at him from his wife, he waited for them to acknowledge.

“ _You'll need to take me, too,_ ” Cortana informed him. “ _I've pulled a schematic of this ship to navigate, but the engineering controls have been manually locked down. I'll need direct access to this ship's command data systems._ ” For just a second, Chief hesitated. He knew his armor could carry Cortana easily, but she used his neural interface for processing purposes, which meant she literally hijacked a part of his mind to function. Before Halo, that wasn't a big deal, but ever since coming out of the Central Command computer, she'd been...twitchy. There wasn't time to doubt, though, so he pushed a button to dump her data back into the chip. When the terminal pulsed green, he pulled the chip free and slid it into his armor's port. He braced through the usual wave of vertigo and tried not to shiver from the mercury-and-ice sensation as she settled. “ _Still plenty of room in here, I see,_ ” she joked, but John only frowned. For some reason she felt...heavier. Maybe it was nothing, but he'd have to ask Kaine about it. Surely she'd know if an AI changed after ingesting a large amount of data.

“Let's go,” he told his group, noticing Faldon's worried frown. Before he could ask, Johnson hit the door release and the hatch slid open. Locklear instantly shouldered his weapon and fired rapidly through the opening. A couple hapless Grunts that had taken shelter beneath their ship died quickly. Seconds later, Chief was springing out the hatch, rolling to his feet as he landed and his tracker located targets. Spinning on his heel, he raised his weapon but lowered it when he saw the floating pink bags. Engineers were no threat.

“ _Funny that there's no welcoming committee yet,_ ” Cortana whispered in his mind. “ _I looked over this ship's personnel roster: three thousand Covenant, mostly Engineers. There's a light company of Grunts and only a hundred Elites._ ”

“ _Only_ a hundred?” John muttered as he waved his team forward. With all the smoke and fire-suppressing mist, visibility was low and he wanted to keep his men close. However, the rattle of an assault rifle had him spinning back around, his own weapon raised. Locklear was standing over the twitching corpses of the Engineers and fired another burst into them as the Spartan watched.

“Don't waste your ammunition, Corporal,” Johnson called, eyes narrow as he frowned. “They may be ugly, but they're harmless.”

“They're harmless _now_ , Sarge,” the ODST replied smugly. Chief tended to agree with the threat analysis: When in doubt, kill. Still, he thought the man's actions were unnecessary and sloppy.

A single shot rang out, and Locklear jerked to the side with a cry. John didn't see anymore, spinning again to face the new threat, but he came to a screeching halt when he saw that it was Kaine that had her weapon pointed at the ODST. As fast as he could, he had his weapon shouldered and he was backing up, dragging along the hapless Sergeant. He wasn't sure what had made his wife snap, but he'd been shot by her enough to know not to get in the way. “I've just about had it with you,” the commanding ODST growled. “You've done nothing but gripe and complain since we landed on Halo. Major Silva may have tolerated that behavior, but I won't, do you understand?” Her finger twitched when Locklear took too long to answer, but he eventually stammered out an affirmative. “There are no, I repeat, _no_ reports of Engineers harming humans,” the redhead continued, steam nearly pouring off of her. “However, there are several reports of Engineers rebuilding anything that gets damaged, no matter what side the object comes from. Did it never occur to you that those creatures could have helped us repair the Longsword, in case we had need of it? Or maybe that they could fix damaged gear? Instead, you decided to use ammo on them instead of saving it for the aliens that actually will try to kill us; ammo that came from an extremely limited supply. One more brash decision like that and I'm confining you to the Longsword's weapon locker. Nod if you understand; I don't want to hear your voice again for the foreseeable future.” The younger ODST nodded frantically and his commander lowered her weapon. “Then get up; I shot you where the armor is thickest. You'll bruise, but you won't die.” Nodding to Master Chief, she then turned around and started scanning the interior of the bay, acting like nothing had happened.

Hoping she wouldn't snap again, John eased forward and scanned for the exit. Spotting the door, and having Cortana confirm that it would take them to the main corridor, he waved Locklear to the right side and Johnson to the left, keeping Faldon close to him. “Lieutenant Haverson,” he called, “you're our rear guard. Polaski, hit the door controls. Hand signals from now on.” Noting the ONI agent's mocking salute, the Spartan angled himself to privately sign to his wife, 'Are you okay?' Looking him in the eyes, she shook her head minutely. Something was very wrong with her, and he was just starting to notice how pale she was becoming. His gaze instantly flicked to her injured arm, but he couldn't see any blood on the bandage.

Chief was so focused on Kaine, he almost didn't notice when the doors slid open without Polaski's permission. Standing on the other side were five Elites, in almost the exact same formation as the humans. Mentally screaming at himself for not paying attention, John fired two bursts right over Polaski's head, praying she didn't stand up. With the aliens' shields down, the first burst took out the leader and the second dropped the rearguard. However, the three others howled and attacked, firing their plasma weapons with abandon. Their shots took out Chief's shields and he struggled to see through the hellfire. Vaguely, he was aware of the Elite nearest Polaski drawing a pistol. However, the pilot had the same idea and somehow managed to get her weapon free first, firing directly into the alien's helmet. This one had shields at the ready, but the blonde pilot emptied her clip into its face until he collapsed backwards, dead.

Johnson, Faldon, and Locklear took care of the other two Elites with a hellish crossfire, tearing the aliens apart as Polaski hugged the deck. Only once all five were dead did they let up on their assault. “Now _that's_ what I'm talkin' about!” Johnson crowed. “An honest-to-God turkey shoot.” At that exact second, a dozen more Elites rounded a corner down the passage. “Uh-oh.”

“Sergeant, door control!” John barked. He took a step forward but Kaine was faster, already at Polaski's side and pulling the Warrant Officer out of the line of fire. Knowing his wife would take care of the pilot, Chief pulled a grenade from his belt, primed it, and tossed it towards the rushing Elite. The moment the explosive was in the passage, Johnson fired his rifle at the door controls; they exploded into sparks and the door slid shut with a bang. A dull _thump_ came from the other side a breath later, and then everything was still. Allowing himself a small sigh of relief, the Spartan glanced at Faldon and Polaski, noting that his wife was handing the pilot a new clip. Though the blonde's hands shook as she slapped the new magazine in her pistol, her face was set. She'd be fine.

“Cortana,” John said quietly, “we need an alternate route to the bridge.” A blue arrow started flashing on his HUD, making Chief turn slightly to spot the nearby hatch. Signaling his team to follow, he ran over and touched the hatch's control panel to open it. The small door slid open to reveal a very narrow and winding corridor that vanished into the darkness. Personally, he didn't like it. The tunnel was the perfect ambush location. If it wasn't for the smoke and sparks from the main door as Covenant tried to cut through, he would have nixed the whole idea. As it was, he didn't have much choice.

Bringing his weapon up to bear, Chief started creeping into the passage. “ _This looks like a service corridor for the Engineers,_ ” Cortana told him as he eased in. “ _The Elite warriors will have a tough time following us._ ” Grunting at her, John scowled as his shields scraped the walls. Reluctantly powering them down, he just barely managed to slide in. Keeping an eye on his HUD as he went, he saw Kaine slip in behind him, followed by Locklear, Polaski, Johnson, and Haverson bringing up the rear. Turning as much as he could, the Spartan signaled for the ONI agent to close the hatch. Frowning, as he always did when given an order, the officer eventually nodded and closed the hatch before ripping out the control mechanism for good measure.

Crawling through the passage, John couldn't help but think of how different this ship was from the last Covenant ship he'd been on. The sheer mass of Engineers on board worried him. The vessel was armed like a warship, but the interior spoke of a different purpose. That didn't sit well with the Spartan.

“ _Stop here,_ ” Cortana suddenly said, bringing everyone to a screeching halt.

Switching off the external speakers to give them a semblance of privacy, Chief asked, “Problem?”

“ _No. A lucky break, maybe. Look to your left and down twenty centimeters._ ” Obeying, the Spartan noticed a portion of the wall that was different from everything else. “ _That's a data port...or what passes for one with the Covenant Engineers. I'm picking up handshake signals in short-wave and infrared from it. Remove me and slot me in._ ”

“Are you sure?”

“ _I can't do much good in here with you. Once I'm directly in contact with the ship's battlenet, however, I can infiltrate and take over their systems. You'll still need to get to the bridge and manually give me access to their engineering systems. In the meantime, I may be able to control secondary systems and buy you some time._ ”

“If you're sure.”

“ _When have I not been sure?_ ” Feeling her anger and impatience through the neural interface, John reluctantly removed her data chip from his helmet. Feeling the heat rush back in as she left was almost a relief; he was alone in the armor again. As much as he liked the AI, no Spartan liked having someone in their head. With only a slight strain, he plugged the chip into the Covenant port.

Behind him came Locklear's disgusted whisper of, “You couldn't pay me to stick any part of myself in that thing.” The ODST then yelped quietly as a foot lashed out and caught him in the head, Kaine glaring back at him. Chief let the two soldiers have their silent argument as he waited for Cortana to report.

“ _I'm in,_ ” she finally said.

“How is it?”

“ _It's...different. Proceed thirty meters down this passage and turn left._ ” Obeying her directions, John couldn't help but shudder as she murmured, “ _It's_ very _different._ ”

Moving slowly through the passage, Chief gave a slight sigh of relief when the tunnel widened out, though he knew that meant the danger was increasing. “Chief?” Faldon's voice came over his internal COM. “Can we talk for a second?” Making sure their channel was private and secure, he nodded. “Vincent is concerned for Cortana. He's used to dealing with enormous data dumps like what happened on Halo, but she is not. With all the information she's trying to store right now, she's going to get very sloppy. She'll miss things, get slower, things like that. All that data is also pushing her towards rampancy far faster than normal.”

“What do you want me to do?” he asked her, noting the first hint of red on his HUD and bringing his weapon up. “I can't just leave her in her chip and Haverson cannot know that Vincent exists.”

“I know,” she sighed. “Just wanted to give you a heads up. If the two of you spend too much time linked together, you'll start feeling the side-effects too. And believe me, there is nothing more annoying than getting a data hangover.”

A small band of Grunts came around the corner, unaware that the humans were waiting. With surprised barks, they fell to a hail of bullets. It was so loud for that second, John almost missed Cortana saying, “ _Chief, there's another way to the bridge._ ”

“Affirmative. Wait one.” Finishing the last of the aliens, the Spartan shook out a cramp in his trigger hand, saying, “Go ahead, Cortana.”

“ _Uploading the route now,_ ” she said, pinging all of their devices. “ _I do not believe you can fit through this new passage in your armor. I suggest you split your team and proceed along both routes to maximize your chances of egress onto the bridge._ ”

“Understood,” Chief said distractedly. “Polaski and Haverson with me. Johnson, Faldon, and Locklear, you take the escape pod route.”

'Good luck,' the redhead signed as her team took off down the other corridor. Feeling a pang in his heart, John forced himself to look away. He had to keep reminding himself that his wife was more than capable of protecting herself, but something inside him rebelled against the idea of letting her out of his sight. Too often he'd thought he'd lost her, but if he held her tight she would just fight him all the more. Better to give her room when he knew he could still reach her quickly if something went wrong.

A minute later, the Spartan's team came to a standstill. What they'd thought had been an empty intersection had actually been full of Elites with invisibility shields. “Cortana,” he barked above the exchange of ammo. “We've got Elites in active camouflage in the passage. We need a way around this intersection.” Even as the AI gave him an alternate route, he realized that Kaine was right. Cortana was missing things she really shouldn't be.

As the team hurried through the corridors, John could feel something in the ship shift. A second later, “ _Chief, be advised that the passages I'm uploading into your NAV system no longer contain_ _atmosphere. Proceeding into those regions will be lethal to the rest of your team._ ” Looking at all the passages marked, the Spartan realized that his AI had just shut down nearly 90% of the ship, killing whatever Covenant was there. That ruthlessness was so unexpected, it took him a few seconds to acknowledge. Sending off a worried warning to Faldon, Chief hurried on until his group finally reached their target. “ _Chief, we may have a prob_ –”

“Hold transmission, Cortana,” he interrupted. “We're outside the command center. Can you tell how many are inside?”

“ _Negative. They have disabled sensors._ ” Of course they have. Sighing, John glanced back at his team, wondering how much he'd be able to rely on them.

“You heard Cortana, expect anything. Commander, get your team in position.” Even though he couldn't see her, Chief could imagine the face she would make at his unnecessary order. She'd gotten the expression from Mendez, who had called it his 'sucking-on-lemons' face.

“Roger that,” she whispered through the COM, sounding perfectly calm. “In position and ready to kick Covenant ass.”

“We're about to blow the door on this end, Cortana. Stand by.” Hearing the AI tell him to hurry, the Spartan braced himself for what was going to be a very hard fight. “Plasma grenades on my mark. Mark! Toss them and take cover!” Throwing his own grenades, picked up from an overcompensating Grunt, he saw them adhere to the doors. Moving as fast as he could, John raced back around the corner, shielding Polaski and Haverson to the best of his ability. A few seconds later the grenades exploded with a flash.

Knowing he didn't have a lot of time, Chief ran back into the hall. The doors were undamaged, as he knew they would be, but hopefully, the plasma weapons had disrupted the motors enough that he could manually open the doors. Bracing himself, the large human tried to wedge his fingers into the seam and pulled them apart. The heavy metal slid a couple centimeters before coming to a crunching halt. Adjusting his footing, Chief tried again but nothing changed. Then his HUD flashed a warning and he realized there was something directly opposite him on the other side of the door. Quickly unslinging his weapon, he pointed the muzzle through the crack and fired several bursts. An agonized howl and curl of smoke from the door told him that he'd succeeded. With a last heave, John tried the door one more time, and this time it slid open.

However, a larger opening meant he was an easier target, and plasma fire washed over him as he struggled to get through the gap. As his shields collapsed, he realized he had to retreat. Hoping the others had gotten their door open, he rolled to the side and yelled, “Marines! Suppressing fire!”

“Hell yes, Master Chief!” came Locklear's enthusiastic reply, but the Spartan couldn't focus on that. His shields weren't recharging. He tried a manual reboot, but got nowhere. Somehow, his shield generator must have gotten damaged. Unless a miracle happened, he would be more vulnerable than he had been in decades. “I'm out!” Locklear called as he ran out of ammo. Time to get back in the fight.

“And I'm in,” Chief said. Rushing into the room, he stepped over the dead Elite that had tried to keep the doors shut, focusing instead on the other occupants in the room. At first, all he could see was a trio of Engineers, cowering within a pit in the floor.

“ _Don't shoot the Engineers; we need them,_ ” Cortana warned.

“Understood,” John replied, weapon low as he eyed the aliens. “Acknowledge that order, Locklear.” After a very long pause, he got the ODST's reluctant acknowledgment. Continuing to scan the bridge, Chief was just about to hope they'd gotten everything when an Elite in black armor materialized from the display, camouflage generator failing. Roaring, the alien sprung forward. Snapping his weapon up, the Spartan squeezed the trigger. The first burst spat out, but then the bolt locked open and his ammo counter hit zero. Oops.

That first burst managed to wound the Elite, but that only made it angrier as it kept coming towards the Chief. “Hold it!” Haverson yelled, trying to aim his pistol at the enemy but the alien shot at him with a plasma weapon, coming perilously close, despite not taking its eyes off its prey. Shifting slightly, John readied himself for a fight, confident that he could beat a single Elite. At least, he was until the thing removed and dropped its helmet, activated its energy blade, and charged.

Ducking under the hissing blade, the Spartan slammed the butt of his useless rifle into the alien's midsection. It doubled over, and he tried to smash the weapon down on its skull, but the Elite was faster than he'd originally assumed, and it rolled away and sliced up, using the sword to cut his MA5B in half. Knowing he was at a disadvantage in close range, John did the only thing he could think of. He stepped closer and grabbed the enemy's arms.

It felt like he was wrestling with a tank as he tried to force the alien's sword away. The creature was obviously well trained and intelligent, not to mention it hadn't spent several days fighting on Halo. Chief felt like he was going to shatter any second, pushed beyond his endurance at last. He could see Haverson and Polaski moving onto the bridge, but they couldn't help him without a clear line of fire. “Move, Chief!” the ONI spook ordered. “Damn it, we've got no shot!” Easier said than done. If the Spartan moved, he would be killed. Trying to compromise, he attempted to turn the Elite, but it caught on easily and moved with him, flicking its sword. The weapon sliced through Haverson's pistol and wounded the agent while Polaski barely got a single shot. Unfortunately, the round ricocheted off the alien's shield.

“Get the Lieutenant out of here!” John barked to the pilot, wondering where the rest of his team was. Raising his knee to his chest, he lashed out with a kick. The force of the blow was enough to drop the enemy's shields, but the damage was minimal. Then, finally a lucky break. Unsteady after the kick, the Elite tripped over it's dropped helmet and fell, Chief landing on top of it. Through the whole struggle, the human had managed to keep hold of the alien's sword arm, but it's free hand was still able to grab a nearby plasma pistol. The Spartan barely managed to dodge the plasma burst, vaguely noticing the displays that were struck instead. What he saw worried him greatly. The other Covenant craft were starting to fire on the flagship. They were running out of time.

Struggling back to their feet in their gruesome dance, Chief managed to knock the pistol out of the Elite's grasp, but he could feel that the alien was getting angrier and stronger. Slowly, he started losing his grip. A flicker of movement from behind the alien caught John's attention; Johnson and Locklear were still struggling to get their hatch open more than just a crack. “Sergeant – prepare to fire,” the Spartan ordered.

“Ready, Master Chief!” Johnson called. Tightening his grip on the alien's sword arm, Chief twisted so his forearm was at the creature's throat and he drove it backwards across the bridge, slamming it against the partially open hatch. However, the angle was bad and the Elite was able to bring the energy blade down to cut into the MJOLNIR armor.

“Sergeant, now! _Fire_!” There was apparently no need to say it again, as gunfire instantly erupted from behind the hatch, oddly muffled. John could feel the Elite jerk as the rounds burst through its armor, but it didn't stop struggling. Its sword sawed deeper and deeper, cutting through the different layers. Hydrostatic gel started bubbling out of the wound, as well as blood. “Keep. Shooting,” the Spartan grunted, trying to push the pain out of his mind. It wasn't until a bullet managed to exit through the alien's chest that Chief moved, slamming the Elite into the bulkhead. The movement had the unexpected side-effect of opening the door to the escape corridor, but John had bigger things to worry about.

Pushing the Elite backwards, the Spartan slammed the alien's arm into the wall, managing to knock the plasma blade from its grip at last. Keeping up his forward momentum, John forced the Covenant back step by step, using the blood on the deck to slick his way. Then, finally, he tried an open-handed strike to the alien's wounded chest. Howling in pain, the Elite flew backwards, crashing into an escape pod. “Get off this ship,” the Spartan quipped for some reason that even he didn't understand, hitting the control that would seal the pod and launch it. The quiet that followed was almost more disturbing than the battle had been. “Good work, Sergeant, Locklear,” John panted, trying to move his arm and failing miserably.

The ship suddenly lurched, throwing everyone off balance. “ _Plasma impact on the starboard foredeck!_ ” Cortana called out. “ _Shields down to sixty-seven percent. Amazing radiative properties. Chief, you need to disable the navigation override so I can maneuver._ ”

By that time, Haverson and Polaski had managed to reach John's side, the ONI spook still grimacing from the wound on his chest. “That's bad,” Polaski whispered, gently touching the Chief's injured shoulder. “Let me get a first-aid kit from the Longsword, and–”

“Later,” the Spartan said sharply, shrugging off her touch. He could see her expression change from concern to fear, but he ignored it. “Cortana, show me what to do. Polaski, you and Haverson get that other hatch open.”

“Aye, aye,” the pilot muttered, voice tight. Otherwise, she obeyed silently, the ONI officer following her.

Striding over to the control surfaces, John glanced over them. It might as well have been written in hieroglyphics. “Where?” he barked.

“ _Move your hand to the right half a meter,_ ” the female AI replied briskly. “ _Up twenty centimeters. That control. No, to the left. That one. Tap it three times._ ” Feeling a bit of deja-vu from that mission when he was eight, Chief obeyed. “I _t worked. NAV controls coming online. I can finally move this crate. Hang on._ ” The ship spun to port, throwing everyone off balance for a brief moment. On the displays that had survived the battle, John could see that four of the Covenant crafts were still attacking them. “ _No good. I can't overcome our inertia in this tub. They're going to hit us...unless I can get us into Slipspace._ ” The controls flashed for a second before one went red. “ _Oh no._ ”

A torpedo hit, shaking the ship. “Oh no, what?” Haverson yelled, still helping Polaski try to open the hatch. Chief could nearly hear his wife grinding her teeth as she had to restrain herself from wrenching the doors open herself.

“ _This ship's Slipspace generator is inert,_ ” Cortana shot back, a vague note of fear and anger in her voice. “ _The disabled NAV controls were a trick. It must have been the Covenant AI; it lured me here while the drive was physically decoupled from the reactor. I can maneuver all I want, give orders to the Slipspace generator – but without the system powered up we're not going anywhere._ ”

“There's a _Covenant_ AI?” the ONI agent muttered, raising an eyebrow as the hatch finally slid open enough for the last three of the team to squeeze through. Of course that would be the part he would focus on.

“Upload the coordinates to the power couplings,” Chief said, mind racing. “I'll take care of it.” Two more torpedoes struck the ship, taking out the shields so that the last weapon actually struck the hull, causing serious damage but failing to breach. “The power couplings, Cortana.”

A route appeared on his HUD, showing him the way to the engineering room. “ _Those won't do you any good,_ ” the AI still argued. “ _There are bound to be Elite hunter-killer teams waiting for you. And even if you managed to remove them, there is no way to repair the power coupling in time. We don't have the tools or expertise._ ”

Refusing to accept that they were beaten before they'd even started, John looked around. There had to be something he could use to fix things. Then a lightbulb went off over his head and he quickly moved to the pit in the bridge, pulling out one of the Engineers. “Maybe we don't have the expertise, but this thing does. Can you communicate with it? Tell it what we need?”

“ _There is an extensive communications suite in the Covenant lexic–_ ”

“Just tell it I'm taking it to fix something.”

“ _Alright, Chief._ ” A stream of chirps suddenly erupted from the speakers, having an instant effect on the terrified pink alien. It stopped squirming and wrapped it's tentacles around the Spartan, looking like a very bizarre backpack. “ _It says 'good' and 'hurry'._ ”

“Everyone else stay here,” John ordered, turning for the main hatch but he stopped cold when he saw Kaine in his way, hands on her hip. “Commander Faldon–”

“Don't 'Commander Faldon' me,” she snapped, face hidden behind her helmet but he knew she was spitting hellfire at him. “I don't give a shit that you're a Spartan; you are not invincible and you _are_ injured. I'm coming with you.” For a long second, Chief stared at his wife, wondering how to make her back down before reluctantly discarding the idea. If he had a thousand years to argue with her, it wouldn't be enough.

Instead, looking at Johnson and Locklear, he said, “Don't let the Covenant retake the bridge.”

“Not a problem, Chief,” Johnson said with a smile, kicking the dead Elite in the teeth before slapping a new clip into his weapon and chambering a round. “Those Covenant sissies are going to have to tango with me before they set one foot in this room.”

Glancing back at the displays, John saw two of the cruisers fire again. “Cortana, buy me some time.”

“ _I'll do what I can, Chief. But you'd better move fast. I'm running out of options._ ”

Gesturing for Faldon to follow, the Spartan loped from the room, heading straight towards the nearest elevator shaft. He kept a reasonable human pace where the others could see him, but broke into a run as soon as he could, knowing his wife could keep up. “The engine room is twenty decks down,” he told her briskly. “This shaft is our most direct route.”

“Therefore, it is also the most dangerous,” she sighed, clearly remembering what Mendez had always told them. “Are you sure you can handle it with your arm like that?” Biting his lip, John tried to remind himself that she wasn't being condescending. As a Spartan, she needed to know how much he could actually do and, therefore, what would be required of her.

“I wouldn't have taken this mission if I didn't think I could accomplish it,” he told her, glancing over his shoulder once. “However, thank you for the help.” She nodded to him, expression still hidden. John knew ODST's could turn their HUD's transparent and wondered why she chose not to. Then they reached the elevator shaft and there was no time to wonder anymore. Forcing the doors open, the pair had a surprise when they realized that the gravity had been disabled in an attempt to disable it. “Now what?”

“Now we jump,” Kaine said with far too much glee in her voice before she did just that. Swallowing his heart back out of his throat as he watched her fall, John realized she was right. In zero gravity, she was in full control and easily moved down the shaft. “Coming?” Taking a deep breath, Chief followed.

When the pair finally reached their desired floor, the Engineer quickly opened the hatch for them, slightly confusing John. Didn't these creatures care that he was the enemy? “I love Engineers,” Kaine sighed as the alien worked. “They don't care who you are, so long as you let them fix things. I got trapped on Halo for a while with a busted Warthog and it was an Engineer that fixed it for me, making it better than it had been. Too bad I wrecked the damn thing when Monitor kidnapped me.”

The door slid open with a beep, silencing the two soldiers. They peered into the corridor, noting that the ambient lights were out. At the end of the tunnel was the reactor room, but a gentle hand on his arm kept Chief from moving. If there was one thing he would never doubt, it was his wife's ability to sense danger. Then he caught what she'd sensed; movement where there shouldn't be any. Looked like the local Grunts had set up an ambush. However, the fact that there was movement and very quiet squeaks meant that there was no Elite, which was a relief. The Spartan doubted he could take on a second one just then.

Taking a moment to take stock of his condition, John had to admit that it was not good. He had no shields, his armor was breached, his arm was barely able to function, and he was low on energy after fighting so long. The odds of him surviving the battle were very slim, even with Kaine's assistance. There was a vague feeling of amusement at the thought that he could survive against the best of the Covenant and the Flood, just to be killed by a handful of Grunts.

“ _Chief, are you there yet?_ ” Cortana asked through his COM. “ _I'm down to one last option._ ”

“Almost,” John whispered, still trying to figure out how to win this battle.

“ _Be careful. Your armor is breached. You can no longer function in a compromised atmosphere._ ” Winking his acknowledgment light at her, the Spartan glanced back at his wife. It hadn't escaped his notice that Cortana had missed the Slipspace generator being sabotaged, which she normally would have known within seconds of entering the Covenant system. Now she was telling him the obvious. Maybe Vincent's concern was justified after all.

“Any plan yet?” Faldon asked, eyeing the shadows with disease. “Something that involves grenades, perhaps?” With that one word, the entire plan suddenly formed in John's mind and he nodded sharply. Quickly setting aside the two frag and one plasma grenades he had, the Spartan pulled some hair-fine optical cord from the shaft, ignoring the Engineer's huff at the destruction. Threading the ends of the cord through the rings of the frag grenades and anchoring them so that the weapons were lodged into the frame of the open door, his trap was quickly set. Quickly motioning for Kaine to stay as close to him as she could, he placed the plasma grenade at the far end of the shaft and triggered it.

Pushing into the corridor fast, John and Kaine landed hard on the deck as gravity took over again. Staying low, they melted into the shadows and raced down the corridor, halting alongside the inside of the first wall brace. Feeling the seconds tick by, Chief pried the Engineer off his back and shoved it into the small space where the brace met the wall. Without prompting, Kaine stepped between the alien and Spartan, helping the larger soldier shield the delicate alien.

The plasma grenade detonated in a flash of light and energy. As they usually did, the Grunts panicked and opened fire, shooting down the corridor completely unaware that it was mostly empty. When they finally ceased fire, a single Grunt stepped forward carefully. Giving a nervous bark when it encountered no resistance, it waddled towards the shaft, followed by five others. The aliens were completely oblivious to the fact that they were passing John and Kaine, less than half a meter from them. When the aliens entered the shaft, there was a small _ping_ as the frag pins were pulled. Bracing, Chief shifted to cover Faldon and the Engineer.

The grenades went off, sounding like contained thunder as they destroyed everything. A broken Needler skidded on the floor, coming to a stop close enough that John dove for it, barely avoiding a plasma shot from the remaining Grunt. However, the weapon was damaged and dead, completely useless...until the Engineer gently tugged it from his hands. Within seconds, it had the weapon repaired and handed it back to the large soldier. “Thanks,” he whispered, smiling when it chirped at him.

“Let me,” Kaine whispered as another plasma shot went by. “I'm a better shot than you are.” Not having the strength to argue, Chief handed the weapon over and shifted so that his wife could peer around the corner. She went completely still, breathing smooth and easy as they had been trained. John knew that she was mentally telling herself that there was no hurry; she had all the time in the world. There was no reason to rush through the moment. That was what their instructors had always told them to do and the best of the Spartan sharp-shooters had taken that mentality and fashioned their lives around it. Neither Kaine or John were that good, but the redhead had the patience to wait that her husband usually lacked unless he had no other option.

Then the ODST was moving, calmly swinging her arm up and firing, as relaxed as though she were at the firing range on Reach. A few seconds later John could hear the rounds explode and the redhead stepped from their shelter, shouldering the weapon. “Clear,” she said smugly.

Chirping, the Engineer followed as Faldon moved down the hall, Chief bringing up the rear. Without prompting, the alien focused in on the disengaged power coupling and got to work, hissing and chirping in what was possibly anger. “Cortana,” John said over the COM, “I've gotten to the coupling. The Engineer seems to know what it's doing. You should have power for the Slipspace generator in a moment.”

“ _It's too late._ ” Instantly stiffening, the two humans glanced at each other. “ _We are now too low in Threshold's gravitational pull. Even at full power, we can't break our degrading orbit. And we can't tunnel into Slipspace, either._ ”

“Vincent agrees,” the redhead said, clearly frowning behind her HUD. “However, he thinks he might have gotten something from Halo that will help us; something that the Forerunners knew. Tell Cortana he's on his way.” Nodding, John relayed the message, noting when his wife flinched and leaned against the nearby wall. He'd have to talk to her about how connected she was to her AI someday, but that was not a good time.

“Now what?” he asked her as she slowly sat down, head in her hands. The Engineer chirped at her as it finished fixing the power couplings, but she waved it away.

“Now we wait,” she grumbled. “Either our AIs figure out a solution or we die. Not that that's a strange occurrence for us.” Reluctantly, her husband agreed. All Spartans had been staring death in the eye the moment they'd been chosen for the program, though they hadn't always known it.

Less than a minute later, the pair felt several explosions through the deck as sections of the ship suddenly decompressed and atmosphere vented. They waited for the engine room to destroy itself, but nothing happened. “Cortana, status please.”

“ _We're safe. In Slipspace. Heading unknown._ ” Cortana sighed tiredly, echoing Kaine as the redhead felt Vincent resettle in her mind again. “ _We're long gone from Halo, Threshold, and that Covenant fleet. If this tin can, can hold together a bit longer, I want to put some distance between us and them._ ”

“Good work, Cortana,” John said, offering his hand to the ODST to pull her to her feet. “Very good. Now we have a hard decision to make.” Glancing at the Engineer that was happily fixing the rest of the engine room, he decided to leave the alien be. It was no threat to any of them, and could actually be a large help. Instead, he signaled for Kaine to follow him and the pair made their way back to the elevator shaft. Hoping that the busy little alien didn't restore gravity just yet, the soldiers used the zero gravity environment to quickly move back up the shaft to the deck with the bridge.

At the entrance to the bridge, Polaski was overseeing an Engineer that was attempting to repair the door controls. The pilot waved the Spartan and ODST in, smiling tiredly. Beyond the doorway, Chief could see that Johnson was tending to Haverson's wound while Locklear warily eyed the Engineer that was repairing the monitors. The ODST's finger hovered near the trigger of his weapon but wasn't actually touching. At least he was following orders still.

A chirp from the door Engineer made Chief glance over as the alien tapped the control and the door slid shut before the controls flashed blue. “It locks now,” Polaski told Chief. “Ugly here knows his stuff.” Three short whistles just barely within the human hearing range filled the air, making the Engineer perk up before drifting over to the Spartan, trying to get behind him.

“What's it doing?” John demanded, moving as well to prevent the alien from reaching its goal. The creatures might be mostly harmless, but they were still Covenant.

“ _I've told it to repair your armor's shields,_ ” Cortana said simply. “ _Let it._ ” Grumbling under his breath, John obeyed, noting how his wife's posture shifted. So much for keeping his damaged shields a secret from her.

“I don't care what Cortana says,” Locklear muttered. “I don't trust them.”

“Did we ask?” Kaine snapped, spinning on her ODST and making him flinch. “And I don't remember giving you permission to speak.” The younger man wisely kept his mouth shut.

Chirping, the other Engineer drifted over to the bridge's holographic controls and activated something. The screens flicked on, revealing three Covenant cruisers closing in fast. Chief could feel the adrenaline instantly flood his system as he snapped, “Cortana, quick – take evasive action.”

“Relax, Chief,” Johnson said. He waved a hand over the controls and the images froze. “It's just a replay.” Eyeing the way a plasma shot had washed over the hull of their ship, he whistled. “Man, I wish our boats had weapons like those.”

“We might soon have exactly that, Marine,” Lieutenant Haverson said, wincing as he got to his feet and hobbled over. “Play this one, Corporal,” he ordered Locklear, pointing to the screen that showed the storms of Threshold. Without complaint, the ODST tapped the control. John was able to watch the entire battle, including the moment when the ship finally jumped to Slipspace, and he found himself impressed. “Cortana,” the ONI agent continued, brushing a lock of hair out of his face. “Has anyone, human or Covenant, ever performed a Slipspace jump from within an atmosphere?”

“ _No, Lieutenant. Normally such strong gravitational fields would distort and collapse the Shaw-Fujikawa event horizon. With the Covenant's Slipspace matrices, however, I had greatly increased resolution. I was able to compensate._ ” John noticed Kaine's quiet snort and had a feeling she was getting her own report from Vincent.

“Amazing,” Haverson breathed, eyes nearly twinkling.

“Goddamned lucky,” Polaski muttered in contrast, glaring at the holographs as she tugged on her hat.

“It worked,” John cut in firmly, not wanting them to start an argument. “For now, that's all that matters.” Facing the others, he tried to ignore the Engineer that was still messing with his armor. As long as it didn't send the suit into lockdown, he'd bear with it. “We have to plan our next move.”

“I'm sorry to disagree, Chief,” Haverson said. “The mere fact that Cortana's maneuver worked is the _only_ thing that matters now.” Feeling slightly threatened, Chief stiffened and turned to face the ONI officer fully. Seeming to know he'd said something wrong, the younger man held up his hands. “I acknowledge that you have tactical command, Chief. I know your authority has the backing of the brass and ONI Section Three. You'll get no argument from me on that point, but I put it to you that your original mission has just been superseded by the discovery of the technology on this ship. We should scrub your mission and head straight back to Earth.”

“What's the other mission?” Locklear asked, his voice suspicious. He flinched when Faldon glanced his way, but when she kept quiet John knew he'd get no help from her.

“I see no reason to keep this information classified at this point,” Haverson shrugged. “Tell him, Chief.” Noting that the man claimed to recognize his authority and then proceeded to order him about regardless, Chief frowned.

“Cortana,” the Spartan finally said. “Is the bridge secure from eavesdroppers?”

“ _A moment._ ” Soon after, red lights pulsed around the perimeter of the room. “ _It is now. Go ahead, Chief._ ”

Sighing, John explained his original mission, trying not to think too hard about the Spartans he had lost. He knew his new team wasn't convinced when they stared at him silently, only Kaine remaining annoyingly unreadable. She'd had worse missions, he was sure. Finally, Locklear snorted. “Typical Navy suicide mission.”

“No,” Chief argued. “It was a long shot, but we had a chance. We have a better chance now that we have this ship.”

“Excuse me, Master Chief, but you're not suggesting that you're going to continue that half-assed op, are you?” Polaski asked, incredulous. “We barely survived four days of _hell_. It was a miracle we got away from Reach, survived the Covenant on Halo...not to mention the Flood.”

“I have a duty to complete my mission,” John told her, knowing she wouldn't understand. Kaine was the only one that could even begin to comprehend how much those words meant to him. “I'll do it with or without your help. There's more at stake than our individual discomfort – even our lives.”

“We're not Spartans,” Haverson cut in. “We're not trained for your kind of missions.” Chief had to concede that part; his Spartans wouldn't have given up. Even if they'd been on their last leg and ready to drop dead from exhaustion, they would have pushed themselves back to their feet and continued to follow him without question. By comparison, most of his current team just weren't ready.

“You still want to go, I got your back, Chief,” Sergeant Johnson said, stepping forward slightly. John nodded to him, but he could see the fatigue in the man's eyes. There were limits to every soldier, and while the Marine might have been willing, that didn't make him able. Besides, the Spartan had to admit that the idea of falling back to regroup was tempting. His previous orders felt like they had been given a lifetime ago.

“What's on this ship can save the human race,” the ONI agent continued to argue. “And wasn't that the goal of your mission? Let's return to Earth and let the Admiralty decide. No one would question your decision to clarify your orders given the circumstances...and the loss of your entire team.”

Just like that, John bristled, fighting the urge to punch the man in the jaw. Talking about Red Team was the worst thing any of them could do just then as those deaths still weighed heavily on the Chief's heart. Any inclination the Spartan had felt to listen to the spook had vanished; his team wouldn't have wanted him to give up.

“Listen to the El-Tee,” Locklear urged. “We deliver a little something for the R-and-D eggheads and maybe buy some shore leave. I vote for that plan.” He saluted the ONI agent, apparently unaware that his commander was watching him. “Hell yeah!”

“This isn't a democracy,” Chief said, voice low and dangerous.

“Yeah, maybe it isn't,” the smart-mouthed ODST said, “but last time I checked, I take my orders from the Corps – not from some swabbie. _Sir_.”

“Corporal, is your foot permanently lodged in your mouth?” Faldon barked, making everyone jump. “Need I remind you that the Master Chief has my full support? Because if I do, I can think of several tasks for you to complete hanging outside of this ship.” The younger ODST instantly winced and shook his head, backing away. Giving her subordinate one last frown, the Commander turned back to Chief. “Whatever you decide, I'm with you,” she said simply. “And the others would say the same.”

“ _I hate to interrupt, but I find myself agreeing with the Lieutenant,_ ” Cortana said.

Startled, John clicked on the private COM channel. “Explain, Cortana. I thought our mission was what you were built for. Why are you backing out now?”

“ _I'm not backing out,_ ” she snapped back. “ _Our orders were given when the UNSC had a fleet, and when Reach was still an intact military presence. All that has changed. We have intact ship-scale plasma weapons and new reactor technologies. Imagine if every ship could maneuver with pinpoint precision in Slipspace. The UNSC could be just as effective in space as you are in ground engagements. We could actually_ win _this war._ ”

Frowning, John had to concede the point. His gut was still screaming that he couldn't abandon the mission, but it was quickly looking like it would be the best option for the greater good. Sighing, he made his choice, though he wasn't giving in completely. “Very well, Lieutenant Haverson. We'll do it your way. I hereby relinquish my tactical command.”

“Good,” the ONI agent said. “Thank you.” He faced the others, continuing, “Sergeant? You, Polaski, and Locklear get back down to the Longsword and grab whatever gear wasn't smashed to bits. Look for a field medkit, too, and then get back up here, double time.” However, Johnson didn't move. “Sergeant?”

“I think you're forgetting something,” Faldon drawled, nonchalantly leaning against a nearby console. “When Master Chief relinquished command, it fell to the highest ranked officer. Me, in other words.” John could nearly hear her smile as the agent scowled. “Johnson, get to it.”

“Yes, sir!” the Marine said easily, grinning. “We're on it.” He and Polaski trotted to the doors, tapping the controls quickly to open the hatch.

“Shit!” Locklear, grumbled, shouldering his weapon and loping after them. “Wait up! Man, I'm never going to get another hour's sleep.”

“Sleep when you're dead,” Johnson and Faldon called in unison, laughing darkly at the Corporal's disgusted sound.

Huffing, Haverson turned his back on the Spartan and ODST. “Plot a course back to Earth, Cortana, and then–”

“ _I'm sorry, Lieutenant Haverson, I can't do that,_ ” the female AI interrupted. “ _A direct course to Earth would be in violation of the Cole Protocol. Furthermore, we are_ _not_ _allowed in indirect route, either. Subsection Seven of the Cole Protocol states that no Covenant craft may be taken to human-controlled space without an exhaustive search for tracking systems that could lead the enemy to our bases._ ”

“Subsection Seven?” the ONI echoed. “I haven't heard of it.”

“ _Very few have, sir. It was little more than a technicality. Before this, no one had actually ever captured a Covenant vessel._ ”

“An exhaustive search of this vessel would be difficult under the circumstances,” Faldon commented, ignoring the agent's scowl. “It must be more than three kilometers long.”

“I have a suggestion, sir,” John said, looking directly at Kaine to make it clear who he was referring to. “An intermediate destination: Reach.”

“Reach?” Haverson barked, trying to cover his surprise with a smile. “Chief, there's nothing in that system except a Covenant armada.”

“No, sir, there are...other possibilities. The first is that the Covenant have glassed the planet and moved on. In which case, there might be a derelict, but serviceable, UNSC craft that we could repair and take to Earth. We'd leave the Covenant flagship in low orbit and return with the proper scientific staff and equipment to effect a salvage operation.”

“A long shot,” Faldon mused. “Although the _Euphrates_ did have a Prowler attached to her. They were supposed to launch a reconnaissance mission before they got the signal to drop everything and help defend Reach. So maybe it's not such a long shot, after all. And the other possibility?”

“The Covenant are still there. The likelihood that they would attack one of their own capital ships is low. In either event, there is no violation of the Cole Protocol because the Covenant already know the location of Reach.”

“True,” Faldon sighed, pacing the bridge in thought. “Very well, Chief. Cortana, set course for Reach. We'll enter at the edge of the system and assess the situation. If it's too hot, we jump and find another route home.”

“ _Acknowledged, Commander,_ ” Cortana replied. “ _Be advised that this ship traverses Slipspace much faster than our UNSC counterparts. ETA to Reach is thirteen hours._ ” Thirteen hours versus weeks? Yes, that was significantly faster.

Relaxing slightly, John nodded to Kaine when she looked at him. He hadn't wanted to tell Haverson his other reason for wanting to go to Reach, but like usual, his wife had known without him needing to say anything. The odds of Red team surviving on the planet was astronomical, but he had to see for himself. He had to _know_.

A wash of static suddenly swept over the Chief's systems as the Engineer chirped excitedly. There was an audible _pop_ before diagnostics started scrolling on his HUD and the shield recharge bar flickered back on and slowly started filling. “They work,” he announced happily, grateful to have his shields back, though losing them had been an important lesson. He couldn't become dependent on any technology.

“Impressive creatures,” Haverson mused, eyeing the Engineer worryingly. “I wonder how the Covenant caste system–”

“Sir!” Johnson's voice blasted through the COM. “You've got to get down to the Longsword, ASAP. You and the Chief.”

“Are you under fire?” John asked, instantly on alert but not hearing anything abnormal over the COM.

“Negative. It's one of the cryotubes you recovered.”

“What about it?” Haverson snapped, still clearly unhappy about having his authority usurped again.

“Chief, there's a Spartan in it.” Shocked, John met Kaine's hidden gaze for a split second before they both took off, racing out the door and through the halls. They forewent their normal restraint, pushing their bodies has hard as any Spartan, watching the corridors flash by them. Ever since landing on Halo, they'd assumed that they were the last Spartans. The idea that there could be another filled them with a deadly hope.

Checking her speed just before hitting the bay doors, Faldon was the first to enter, Chief hard on her heels. “Report!” she barked, making Locklear leap to his feet from his squatting position next to the tubes. The others were unaware, but he knew that tone of her voice almost too well. If someone didn't start talking soon, she was going to start shooting.

“The Spartan's in the middle tube,” he spoke quickly, knowing he was already on thin ice with his commander. “Some kind of energy surge deactivated the other pods and their occupants are dead. The middle one is still powered up, though.” Moving to the side to avoid getting run over by the Master Chief, he watched the large soldier climb back into the ship and kneel beside the tube, scrubbing the built up frost away so he could see clearer. “According to the biomonitors, the Spartan received a lethal wound but was frozen in time to be saved. You know, if we actually had the medical supplies. Is he okay?”

“He will be,” Faldon said quietly, finally removing her helmet and running a hand through her hair. “I realize you probably don't care, Corporal, but that Spartan probably means the world to him. No one knows the whole story, but I've worked with enough of them to understand that they're basically one big family. Imagine being in command of a bunch of brothers and sisters and having to send them to their deaths. Wouldn't you be ecstatic to learn that a sibling you thought was dead was actually alive?” Locklear watched the Chief for a moment longer before nodding slightly, a vague look of understanding on his face. “Get back to work salvaging,” Kaine ordered gently, patting her soldier on the shoulder before joining John. Waiting until the Corporal was out of hearing range, she wrapped an arm around her husband as she knelt beside him. “Who is it?”

“Linda,” he croaked, voice breaking with emotion. “She was shot on Gamma station. I managed to get her back to the _Autumn_ and the medics put her in cryo, but I never thought...” Knowing what he wanted to say, Kaine just gave his arm a squeeze. “If I hadn't ordered them down to the planet–”

“Don't go there,” the redhead warned. “Don't second guess yourself, Chief. Leave the past in the past, pick yourself up, and move on. No one knows what would have happened if you hadn't ordered them down, and you don't know that they are lost. We were still evacuating people when the _Pillar of Autumn_ jumped to Slipspace; I was down there and working until the last minute. So take a couple minutes to collect yourself, then get up and give us a hand. We only have a few hours to get everything scuttled.” Waiting until he nodded, the ODST got back to her feet with a groan. She brushed a hand over the tube as she left, whispering, “Welcome back, pseudo sister.”

Smiling, John could only shake his head as his wife climbed out of the Longsword and started barking orders. None of the Spartans had known each other before being captured, but Klare and Linda had discovered that they were from the same town and had decided they were long lost sisters. They certainly looked the same, with their red hair and green eyes, though Linda was a shade darker in both categories. Even their personalities were the same, preferring to work alone and isolated. However, Chief would call Linda a lone wolf, preferring to be alone but capable of working with a pack when needed. Klare had been a wild cat, rejecting social interaction viciously whenever possible. That independence had made them the strongest of the team.

To see Linda like this...it broke his heart.

“Right,” John muttered to himself, getting to his feet. “Thirteen hours. Time to get to work.” Giving Linda one last glance, the Spartan left the ship to see what Kaine needed from him. The group worked steadily in the bay for several hours, salvaging everything they could. Finding himself back in the Longsword to strip it of air scrubbers and remote COM, Chief found himself staring at the tube again, wondering if anyone else had survived.

“Master Chief?” Johnson called gently, tapping on the hull of the Longsword. “You got the air scrubbers? The remote COM? Polaski says she's ready to call it a day with that Covenant dropship. We need to get on board and work.” Nodding, John got to his feet and motioned to the stripped gear. The Sergeant picked everything up before gesturing for the Spartan to disembark first. Hesitating, Chief looked back at the cryotube. “Don't you worry about her. Hell, I been hit worse and she's three times the soldier I am. She'll pull through.” Not mentioning that he'd heard the same hollow promise a million times about critically wounded men, John sealed the hatch. There was a chance that Linda would survive, and he had to focus on that.

Crossing the hangar, John looked around a bit. The place was looking much better now that they'd cleared out the debris and bodies. It gave Polaski ample room to practice as she flew the Covenant dropship around. “She says that she's figured out the weapon controls, too,” Johnson reported on the flying pilot. “No way to test them in here, of course.”

“Understood. And the rest of the team's progress?”

“I've got the doors from here to the bridge and to the engine room welded shut. If those transient sensor contacts that Cortana keeps picking up are anything, they'll have to cut through to get to us. Locklear's grabbing some sack time. He needed it. He'll be fine, though; ODSTs are tough as nails. Lieutenant Haverson slept some then got up, had a long conversation with Cortana, and started reading through some of the Covenant database. As for Commander Faldon, she's been flitting about, checking on everyone and lending a hand when needed. Haverson has a black eye from her, but she's otherwise been pretty calm, if edgy. Tried to get her to sleep, but she hadn't been down for more than five minutes before she had to get up and move again. Basically, everyone seems to be fine, considering what we've been through.”

“Understood,” Chief said, noting his wife's strange behavior The only time she got that twitchy was when there was danger that she couldn't locate. “Cortana? Ship status?”

“ _ETA to Reach in twenty minutes,_ ” was the reply.

“You said thirteen hours' total travel time,” John argued, checking his mission clock. “By my count, we have approximately two hours to go.”

“ _I had determined it would be thirteen hours based on the specifications of the Covenant Slipspace drive but there's..._ ” She trailed off.

“Cortana?”

“ _Sorry. There's a curious time-dilation effect at these Slipspace velocities. Although, technically, velocity, acceleration, and for that matter, time have no meaning in the folds of Slipspace. I thought I told you all this._ ” Worried, John glanced at the Sergeant, who shook his head. This was bad. Cortana didn't 'forget' things, and she sounded very distracted, which was not like her at all. They depended on her to fly the ship, and if she went to pieces on them they were in very deep trouble.

Opening a COM channel, Chief said, “Change of plan, team. Reach ETA is nineteen minutes. I'll explain later – just grab your gear and meet on the bridge ASAP.”

“Roger, Master Chief,” Haverson replied. “Locklear and I are already up here.” Setting the Covenant dropship down, Polaski jumped out and jogged over to them. Assuming Kaine would join them eventually, the team trotted through the halls back to the bridge.

Opening a private COM with Cortana, John asked, “Anything else I should know?”

There was a very long pause before, “ _I have the Covenant magnetic plasma-shaping system figured out. We'll have limited offensive capacity when we get to Reach if we need it. I think._ ”

“And the rest of this ship is still functional?”

“ _Yes. I'm sorry, Chief...these calculations are...tricky._ ” Without warning, the COM went dead. However, a text message suddenly flashed in the corner of John's HUD. 'I'll take care of her. -Vincent' Hopefully the ancient AI would be able to help.

Reaching the bridge doors, Chief noticed they were sealed shut. Rapping on the metal, he called, “Lieutenant? We're outside.” The doors slid open, revealing the agent and Locklear pointing their weapons to the entrance, but they relaxed when they saw the humans. Behind them, Kaine nodded to John before focusing on the screen before her.

“Sorry for the warm welcome,” Haverson said as the trio of soldiers entered and the door slid shut again. “Cortana's been picking up transient contacts all over the ship. We're going to have to deal with them sooner or later – preferably before they deal with us.”

“Agreed,” Chief said, though he privately wondered how accurate his AI's reading were. If she was forgetting to update him, how could he trust her sensors?

Polaski reported her progress with the dropship to Haverson while Locklear edged closer to Johnson and the Spartan. “What do you think, Sarge?” he asked, watching the blonde. “I mean, about her? Sure, there's that Marine-Navy thing to get over, but I can get past that. You think there's a chance that she and I? I mean–”

“I'd give you the same odds as spacing yourself and walking the rest of the way to Reach,” the Sergeant answered bluntly. “In your skivvies.”

“Give me a drop pod and I'd take those odds, Sarge.” Smiling, he looked at Master Chief. “Sure, I get it. Wouldn't be so defensive if I hadn't been close to the mark. Where there's smoke, there's fire, right?” Slowly, John shook his head. That made the ODSTs grin shrink, but it didn't fade completely. “You guys are just jealous. That's cool. I get that all the time.”

“Hey, Romeo,” Kaine barked, grabbing Locklear's ear and pulling, ignoring his yelp. “Less flirting over the pilot, more doing your job. We're coming out of Slipspace any second now; get ready.”

Right on the heels of her words, Cortana announced, “Exiting Slipspace in three...two...one.” Noting that, according to his clock, they were still eleven minutes early, Chief braced. The bridge dimmed as the ship came out of Slipspace, several monitors working together to reveal what lay before them. “We are seven hundred thousand kilometers from the system center. I wanted to jump in close enough to see what was going on – but far enough away so we would have time to recharge and re-enter Slipspace if there's any trouble. Picking up signals now. Covenant signals. Lots of them. Translating...stand by.”

Haverson tapped a screen and it magnified, showing Reach. “My God,” he breathed, eyes wide as everyone else joined in his staring. The planet revealed was smoldering from pole to pole. Fires raged over its surface and black hurricanes swept over everything. John could feel the bottom of his stomach drop away. He'd ordered his Spartans down there; called it the 'easier' mission. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that he'd gotten his siblings killed.

“Are we in the right place?” Locklear asked quietly. “That's Reach?” He removed the cap he'd been wearing, crushing it in his grip. “Poor bastards.”

Suddenly, Chief jolted upright. “What is this?” he asked, touching the screen to push magnification. The resolution wasn't the best, but they could all clearly see a section of the planet that was still brown, green, and white. Compared to the rest of the planet, it was like an oasis.

“Looks like they missed a spot,” Johnson said, but even his voice was tinged with confusion.

“The Covenant doesn't 'miss' anything when they glass a planet,” Faldon disagreed, eyes riveted on the small spot. “We've seen them do it enough to know what happens. This is no accident.” Turning to Haverson, she continued, “We should get closer and see what this is.”

“I sympathize with your need to know what happened to the Spartans,” the spook replied carefully. “It's clear you and the Master Chief are friends.” No one noticed when the ODST stiffened at that. Clearly, she'd let her guard down too often. “Still, this is...” He gestured to the planet but then paused, frowning as he scrutinized the area closer. “Indeed. This does warrant a closer look...provided we can get away with it.” Pulling the magnification back, the Lieutenant examined the screen, unaware of the confused looks behind him, or that Faldon was scowling in a way that said she knew more than she should. “There are several smaller vessels circling over that spot. Forget what I just said; if the Covenant are so interested in this region, then we should be as well – as long as our cover holds. Cortana, take us closer.”

“ _Yes, Lieutenant._ ” The flagship smoothly accelerated towards the ravaged planet. “ _They're hailing us. Preparing the proper counter-response._ ” Letting the AI worked, John observed the screens. There were hundreds of ships displayed, but most were dropship size. However, there were at least a dozen cruisers and two titanic carriers that held enough Seraphs to turn their captured ship into molten slag. If something went wrong, they wouldn't be able to fight their way out. Noticing that the smaller ships were herding debris into a single spot, he frowned. That wasn't normal behavior

“You see this?” he asked, pointing at the field of debris. The sight elicited a frown on Kaine and Haverson's faces, though the rest seemed unaware of the significance. “It's almost as if they planned to stay here for a while – they're cleaning house.”

“ _We're in,_ ” Cortana announced. “ _The fleet is curious why a Covenant flagship is here, but not suspicious enough to question our authority. The translation is tricky. But apparently from the string of honorifics attached to their responses, there's supposed to be someone of extremely high rank commanding this ship, someone they referred to, among other things, as the 'Guardian of the Luminous Key.'_ ”

“Damn silly name,” Johnson muttered.

“Can you tell what they're doing down there, Cortana?” the ONI agent asked.

“ _Not yet,_ ” she replied. “ _Their language doesn't translate in a literal manner, and each word has multiple meanings. There's something they consider holy – there are ten times as many religious allusions than in their typical communiques. Hang on...picking up a new signal. Weaker than the others. Not on a Covenant frequency. It's the UNSC E-band._ ” Everyone flinched, wondering if there was actually people trapped below. Haverson finally gave the order to play the signal and a message beeped through the speakers. Six tones, two-second pause, repeat. To most of the team, it was nonsense.

To John and Kaine, it was hope personified.

“ _That's it,_ ” Cortana said. “ _Just those six notes over and over. It originates here._ ” A NAV point on the edge of the intact region appeared.

“It's not Morse code,” Polaski said. “Not any code I've heard of. Maybe it's a test signal? Something automated, like an air traffic repeater relay, maybe?”

“It's not automated,” John cut in, unable to keep the sheer hope out of his voice. “Everyone gear up and get ready. We're going down there. There are Spartans down there. And they're still alive.” Ignoring the fact that Haverson was already arguing with him, he turned to look at Kaine and saw the spark of hope in her eyes as well. Neither could keep the grins off their faces, not caring that everyone could see them. There was no way to know how many Spartans had beat the odds and survived, but that signal was known only to them. For it to be playing, there had to be a survivor.

“ _Oly Oly Oxen Free._ ”

 


	10. Strike Back Part 2

**Strike Back Pt 2**

Time: Date Record Anomaly\Estimated 0510 Hours\

September 23, 2552\

Aboard Captured Covenant Flagship, Epsilon Eridani System

Sighing in frustration, Kaine glanced over the bridge to the arguing group again. Why they were still discussing what to do, she didn't know. It wasn't like Chief was gonna sit on the ship with that signal repeating over and over. Granted, no one else knew why those six notes were so important, but surely they could see how determined he was. He was going down there, the only question that remained was who would go with him. However, that question had dissolved into an ongoing argument that had driven the ODST across the bridge to help one of the Engineers repair a console.

“I forbid you to go to the surface!” Haverson finally yelled, face nearly purple in rage. As fun as it was to watch the man lose his cool, the redhead officer couldn't help but frown at his outburst. Why he was having such a hard time remembering that he wasn't the highest ranked person on the ship was beyond her. ONI was supposed to be better at this.

“I wasn't asking permission, sir,” John replied, voice calm to everyone that didn't know him. To Faldon, it was obvious that he was about ready to tear the man apart with his bare hands. “There are Spartans down there, and they are my main priority. If I have to go down alone, I will, but there is no way I'm leaving them here.”

“Like hell you're going down alone,” Kaine cut in, finally leaving her location to saunter back over, ignoring the Lieutenant's glare. “Didn't you mention on Halo that Sierra-104 was one of the Spartans you lost? He's saved my life more times than I care to admit to; if there's a chance he's still in that hell hole I'm coming along.” Okay, so he hadn't actually said that, but it wasn't a stretch to make the assumption. Fred usually took over Blue Team when Chief couldn't be there, and she _had_ heard that Blue Team had been on Halo.

“I follow the Commander,” Locklear instantly chimed in, not surprising the redhead at all. After so many years, she was pretty used to the absurd loyalty that every ODST had towards her. Besides, no self-respecting ODST would pass up a chance to piss off an ONI agent.

“As do I,” Johnson grunted, throwing a wink in Kaine's direction, unaware of the quick glare that the Master Chief threw him. “Never met a Faldon that wouldn't protect the soldiers under them with their very lives if need be. Anything I can do to help out, I will in a heartbeat.”

“Guess I'm in too,” Polaski sighed, smiling wryly. “After all, you're gonna need someone that knows how to fly.”

“Then we're decided,” Faldon said firmly, giving them all a small smile before turning to face Haverson full on. “Lieutenant? Will you be joining us?” Noting the fact that the man was grinding his teeth in frustration, she still accepted it when he grudgingly nodded. “Very well. Master Chief, it's possibly your Spartans down there; you have tactical command.”

“Cortana,” the larger Spartan said instantly, clearly wanting to make up for lost time. “We'll need to rendezvous at a–”

“Coordinates already optimized,” the AI cut in, projecting a map on the displays. “Enemy patrols miss this nine-thousand-cubic-kilometer region. Further optimization reveals that all ships will be farthest from this point at oh-seven-fifteen hours. I suggest we meet there at that time.” Kaine had to cover a snort when everyone stared at the display in surprise. It was possible Cortana was just that good, but with everything the poor data construct was going through, she'd probably started the calculations the moment Chief had said he was going down.

“Very good,” Haverson finally said reluctantly, looking over her calculations. Rolling her eyes, the redhead decided to let him pretend he was in charge a little longer, instead choosing to watch her husband as he tilted his head. She wondered if he even noticed that he always did that; tilting his head slightly to the right whenever he spoke to Cortana over a private COM. Still it wasn't her place to judge, as she apparently raised her right eyebrow whenever she communicated with Vincent.

“Let's move,” John barked, grabbing his weapon as he loped off the bridge, Johnson hard on his heels. Allowing Polaski and Haverson to go next, Kaine fell into step with Locklear. She could tell the Corporal was glancing at her nervously, and he had good reason to. Over the last few hours, she'd been less than happy with him several times.

“I know you held Major Silva in high regard,” she said at last, keeping her eyes forward and senses on alert. There was no telling how many Covenant were still on the ship after all. “He was an excellent officer, though a bit power hungry and blinded by personal issues, if you ask me. Some of that was my fault; I gave him a lot of slack because I knew his cousin, Chyler Silva, who died at Corbulo. But this silent war between yourself and the Master Chief ends now, Corporal.” Finally glancing at the young soldier, she frowned darkly. “The rivalry between the ODSTs and the Spartans was stupid to begin with, but now that Reach is gone we can't afford to fight amongst ourselves anymore. You may not like him personally, but that man will protect you with his life, so the least you can do is give him some respect.”

“Yes, Commander,” Locklear replied instantly, before yelping when she quickly stepped in his way and spun towards him, forcing him to slam on his brakes.

“Don't 'Yes, Commander' me,” she snarled. “One more slip up, one more badly veiled challenge to the Master Chief, and I'm going to kill you myself, so don't say 'Yes, Commander' until you are damn sure you can keep your word. Because I can't mediate between the two of you down on that planet, so if you're going to be a potential distraction I will wipe you out as fast as I'd wipe out an Elite.” Not giving him time to reply, she quickly turned and resumed her trip down the halls, listening to him quickly try to catch up. They reached the launch bay before he could say anything though, the rest of the group already aboard the dropship. Without a word, Faldon pulled herself in and took a seat on the floor in a corner, trying to hide her wince. The patch job on her shoulder that she'd finally received on Halo was starting to fail. It hadn't been the best patch to begin with, and now she could feel blood starting to seep through the sutures. Her only hope was that John wouldn't notice before they managed to get to Reach, or he'd send her right back to the ship.

With an ease that didn't reflect on her lack of experience at all, Polaski smoothly flew the Covenant dropship out of the hangar and started towards Reach. The interior of the ship was silent as every human struggled with their own fears and doubts, though Chief stood calmly throughout the trip. It made Kaine want to roll her eyes, but she resisted the impulse so long as her helmet was off. Instead she focused on her shoulder, keeping it moving in small and subtle circles to prevent it from seizing up.

“They're pinging us,” Polaski said quietly from the cockpit that was left of the redhead, barely audible to Kaine so she knew Johnson and Locklear hadn't heard at all.

“Nice and easy, Warrant Officer,” Haverson whispered back, barely masking the fear in his voice. “Just use the programmed response Cortana gave us.”

“Aye aye, Lieutenant,” Polaski replied, sounding only vaguely confidant. As she tapped something on the controls, Kaine checked with Vincent one last time about the accuracy of Cortana's message. He admitted that it wasn't the best in the world, but it should buy them the time they needed. “Sending now.” Crossing her fingers, the redhead waited.

“Cortana's got this stuff wired tight,” Johnson suddenly said from her right. “No worries.”

“I got _plenty_ of worries here,” Locklear muttered back. “Man, I'd rather be in a HEV pod on fire and out of control than up here. We're sitting ducks.”

“Stow the whining, Corporal,” Faldon hissed, throwing a glare his way. “Or we'll see just how big of a crater you'd make if I threw you out at this height.”

“Quiet,” Haverson snapped, voice low as he glared back into the holding area. “Let the lady concentrate.” The silence stretched for several uncomfortable seconds as everyone waited to see if they'd be blown out of the sky. “Is that an attack vector?” the spook suddenly asked, completely unaware of the statues he now had in the back.

“I don't think so,” Polaski replied. “But it's hard to tell with those things.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kaine saw Locklear take a breath that he didn't release, and her concern spiked. The only thing worse than an on edge ODST was an on edge Spartan, but both could cause phenomenal damage. However, before she could step in, Chief put a hand on the ODST's shoulder and said, “Relax, marine. That's an order.”

To the redhead's shock, Locklear obeyed, running a hand over his shaven head. “Right...right, Chief.” He hadn't even looked to her first, and that fact made her celebrate internally. Seemed he was taking her words on the ship to heart.

“Collision warning,” Polaski suddenly said as a red light started flashing. She was unaware of Kaine's groan or Johnson's quiet cursing, instead reaching for the yolk to move out of the way.

“Hold your course,” Haverson ordered instead, trying to project confidence and only partially succeeding. “Hold your course. They're just taking a closer look and there's nothing to see. Nothing to see at all.” It would have been a lot more believable if he hadn't sounded like he was trying to convince himself. For several long seconds the ship was deathly silent, and then Polaski released the breath she'd been holding and everyone relaxed. Disaster avoided yet again.

Running a hand through her hair, Kaine noticed that John was observing Locklear, though anyone not familiar with Spartans probably wouldn't have seen it. She knew better than to say it, but she thought the two men were actually very similar. Locklear had the same fire and determination as any of her siblings, though he was a bit more emotional than she was used to. It sometimes made her wonder just how different that Spartans actually were from the men she led every day. Eric had sometimes joked that the ODSTs she trained were turned into mini-Spartans, but maybe the truth was that Spartans were simply humans with awesome gadgets. Maybe there was no difference between them.

When Polaski suddenly sighed in relief and slumped forward, Locklear was quickly beside her, offering a clean bandana from one of his pockets. Out of respect, Kaine made special effort to not eavesdrop on their conversation, but she still gave her soldier a look of fond disbelief, chuckling at his slightly embarrassed shrug. So long as he didn't allow his newfound emotions for the pilot interfere with the mission, she wouldn't say anything.

“Locking onto the signal source,” Haverson broke in, sounding much better now that the majority of the danger seemed to have passed. “Course two-three-zero by one-one-zero.”

“Two-three-zero by one-one-zero, aye,” Polaski echoed, flying the dropship smoothly into the smoke cloud that was obscuring most of the planet. There was a quiet beep before some sort of filter was activated and they could suddenly see the planet surface on the screens. Everywhere they looked, there was raging fires and the scars they left behind. In her little corner, Kaine could barely believe the sight. She'd trained in those woods for years; they'd been her refuge when she'd escaped the program too. Now there was nothing left but blackened trunks and the stench of death. Now, she truly had no home.

“The canyon,” Haverson stated, pointing to an ugly scar on the planet surface. “Scanners are just picking up surface information. Let's get a closer look.”

“Understood,” Polaski chimed, pulling the ship around and spinning it, happily ignoring the complaints from the back. With the same unnatural ease she'd demonstrated the entire flight, she dropped into the canyon and flew along, never even coming close to the edges. As she flew, the ONI spook pulled out the COM system that had been removed from the Longsword. He tuned the system to pick up the six-note signal again, finding that it was still going strong. The sound helped Faldon relax into her seat a bit more; she'd been afraid that it would vanish as they'd traveled. Like Chief, she wasn't sure she could survive if all of their siblings was simply gone.

“Open a channel on that E-band, Lieutenant,” John said, a slight hitch in his voice that no one other than Kaine would catch. “I'll need to send the counter signal.”

“Channel open, Chief. Go ahead.” The Spartan tilted his head to the right again, meaning that he was talking into his mic. No one in the dropship could hear him, but the redhead knew what he was saying. ' _Oly Oly Oxen Free. All out in the free. We're all free._ '

The signal stopped.

“Signals gone,” Haverson said, turning to stare at the Chief in surprise. “I'm not sure what you just told them, but whatever it was, they heard you.”

“Good. Set us down somewhere safe. They'll find us.”

“There's an overhang ahead,” Polaski reported, already moving them into position. “I'll put us down there.” Spinning the ship around easily, she backed into the small shelter and set the dropship down. It was all so smooth, Kaine barely felt it. Despite her inherent dislike of flying, she was starting to think that Polaski had been a godsend after Halo.

“Open the side hatch,” John told the pilot, subtly crouching in a way that would loosen his leg muscles. “I'll go out alone and make sure it's safe.”

“Alone?” Haverson questioned, clearly unhappy with that answer. Rising from his seat in the cockpit, he turned towards the giant Spartan, frowning. “Are you certain that's wise, Chief?”

“Yes, sir. This was my idea. If it's a trap, I want to be the one to set it off. You stay here and back me up.”

After several long seconds, the ONI agent nodded. “Very well, Chief.”

“Hell no, Chief,” Kaine broke in, getting to her own feet and tugging her helmet on at last. She knew when her husband turned towards her he was glaring, but she just smiled and tilted her head. “Spartan or not, no one is going solo on this lump of rock. I'm coming or you're staying, take your pick.” For a moment it looked like he would argue, but then he gave an annoyed huff and nodded sharply, turning back to the now open hatch as she fell in behind him. They went down the ramp together, senses straining for the first hint of a trap. For a second, everything seemed calm, and then John pulled his pistol and crouched, triggering Faldon to do the same.

Then a Spartan stepped out from behind a rock and the redhead breathed a sigh of relief. Standing back up, she noticed the way the new soldier glanced around and smiled. If that wasn't Anton, she'd eat her helmet. When the Spartan gave Chief the signal for a smile, she finally stepped out from behind her husband, watching as her younger brother jumped. Knowing that Anton hadn't been on Sigma Octanus, and therefore hadn't seen her when the other Spartans had, she pulled her helmet back off and gave him the biggest smile she could, noting distantly that it made her cheeks hurt. But it was worth it when he gave the signal again to her, this time with a little bounce that meant he was barely controlling himself.

“Good to see you, too,” John said, adding Kaine to the COM channel. “How many are left?”

“Three, Master Chief, and one other make up our team. Apologies for the disabled FOF tag, but we're trying to confuse the Covenant forces in this area.” Anton looked around again, clearly uneasy being so exposed, and no one could really blame him. After the hell he must have gone through the last few weeks, it was a miracle he wasn't a gibbering mess. “I'd rather not give a full report in the open.” Faldon didn't need her helmet to know that Chief flashed his acknowledgement light at that, and the trio carefully jogged to the side of the ravine, keeping wary eyes on the rim of the canyon. Only when they were concealed in the shadows did they dare relax even slightly, though Kaine did allow herself a giggle when Anton pulled her into an unexpected hug. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but it meant the world to her.

“ _You okay, Chief?_ ” Haverson's voice suddenly said over the COM, making the redhead glance back at the ship. She could barely see Locklear peering out of it, eyes focused on the spot where the Spartans had ducked into the shadows. Maybe someday she'd tell him that he was looking at empty space; they were long gone.

“Affirmative, sir. Contact made with a Spartan. Stand by.” Anton was leading them into a tunnel so dark that Kaine could barely see her hand in front of her face, forcing her to put the helmet back on. As they trotted in, Chief and the redhead spotted two more Spartans, each manning a chaingun and guarding the entrance. With such poor lighting, Faldon couldn't be sure of their identity, but she guessed that the one that followed them into the tunnel was Grace, based on the almost unnoticeable limp.

Entering the interior of the cavern, John and Kaine winced at the sudden, blinding light. Blinking the spots from her eyes, the ODST glanced around before noticing the man in the Navy uniform. Chief had already stiffened, snapping a salute and saying, “Admiral, sir!” She just shook her head, unable to fully repress her mirth. If anyone was going to survive Reach being glassed, of course it was going to be Vice Admiral Whitcomb. The man was built like a bear and had a temper to match, so it was no surprise he was too stubborn to die.

“Master Chief,” the man said, saluting back and probably knocking the Spartan for a loop. Not many officers saluted back like they actually respected the soldier, but Whitcomb certainly did. “At ease, son. Damn good to see you.” Shaking the Chief's hand, an experience Kaine knew to be potentially very painful, he nodded. “Welcome to Camp Independence. Accommodations ain't four star...but we call it home.” Then he glanced at the ODST, sharp eyes easily picking out rank and branch, before giving a blinding smile. “Well I'll be damned; Commander Faldon. Haven't seen you since you were Eric's glorified secretary.”

“You always know what to say to make people feel important, Admiral,” she chuckled, pulling the helmet _back_ off. Ignoring the surprised shuffles from Grace, she smiled and offered her own hand to be shook, grunting in surprise when she was instead pulled into a bone-crushing hug. Biting her lip, she felt the wound on her shoulder reopen and cursed fluently in her mind. Now there was no way the Spartans wouldn't notice, dammit!

Right on cue, Grace, the only Spartan on the correct side to see the sudden pool of 'wet' on her uniform, stepped forward. “Commander, you're injured.” Feeling John's gaze instantly drilling into the side of her skull, Kaine sighed, trying not to flinch when Whitcomb jumped back.

“It's an old injury, Spartan,” she said, trying to smile and knowing none of her siblings were buying it. “The patch job just failed, that's all.”

“Well, we don't have a ton of medical supplies, but we should be able to at least close it up again,” the Admiral said, giving her a look that was just daring her to argue. “Spartan 093, will you help the Commander fix herself up?”

“Of course, sir.”

Rolling her eyes, Kaine allowed her sister to drag her away, sitting on a crate as the Spartan dug through their supplies. For a few seconds she could feel everyone staring at her, each with various levels of frustration, but then Whitcomb turned back to John. “I'm happy to see you Chief, so don't take this the wrong way, but what the hell are you doing here? Keyes had orders to take you on a mission deep into Covenant territory.”

“Yes, sir. It's...a long story.”

Raising an eyebrow, Whitcomb made a show of twisting his mustache and looking at his antique wristwatch before smiling. “We got the time, son. Let's hear it.” With a barely audible sigh, John sat on a rock and started telling his story. Part way through, the others from the dropship arrived, each one slightly surprised to realize that the Chief had been right about Spartan presence. Locklear looked like he would have a fit when he saw his Commander being treated by Grace, but the withering glare the redhead gave him kept him silent and away.

As the story came to an end, the Admiral gave a long, low whistle. Knowing the man better than any of her siblings, Kaine knew it meant he was beyond impressed. Frankly, she was too. That any of them had survived Reach was a miracle, but add Halo, the Flood, and capturing the Covenant ship, and they were surely taxing the limit on how much good luck they could have. Then again, this was John she was talking about. His well of luck never seemed to run dry.

“That's one hell of a tale,” Whitcomb finally sighed, rubbing a hand over his bald head. “And if it had come from anyone but you, I'd order a psych exam.” He started pacing, face contorted in a frown as he mentally wrestled with something. “I believe it all...but something still doesn't add up. Can't quite put my finger on it, though.”

“Sir?” Haverson cut in meekly. “Pardon my asking, but how is it you are alive? Here?”

“Well, that's another long story, Lieutenant,” the older officer said with a smile. “Let me give you the short-and-sweet version. The second those Covenant bastards entered the system I knew Reach was history. The Covenant don't do anything halfway. Everyone planetside was evacuating – which was the right thing to do – but I had to stay behind. We'd been working on a new bomb, called the Nova. It was a cluster of nukes, each with a lithium triteride casing. Now, these things, in theory, when they detonate, not only make a big bang like you expect a nuke to – but they also force their tritium cases together into one big superheated and pressurized center. Boosts the yield a hundredfold. Planet killers. We had planned to use these things in space battles to level the playing field.

“Well, things didn't quite turn out as planned, and we got caught flat-footed with those Novas on the ground. So I decided to repurpose them.” When Haverson frowned in confusion, Whitcomb rolled his eyes. “Think, son. All that ordnance around with plenty of Covenant to blow up.”

“I'm sorry, sir,” the ONI agent said, shaking his head. “I still don't understand.”

“Intelligence officer, huh?” the Admiral snorted, turning to smile at Kaine when she chuckled. Then he turned to Chief. “What would you have done?”

“Arm them, sir,” came the reply, no hesitation to be heard. “Activate the fail-safe tampering detonators and start a countdown timer. Say, two weeks.”

“I gave it only ten days. There's no need to give them too much time to tinker. See, there are two possible outcomes to this plan, Lieutenant. Either the Covenant pack up the Novas and take them home for study – a possibility I pray to God happens. A bomb like that would crack their home world in half. Or the bombs stay here and they'll stop the Covenant on Reach.”

“I see, sir,” the agent whispered, glancing down at his watch nervously. “This was how many days ago?”

“Got plenty of time left,” Whitcomb said with a smile that made Kaine groan and hit her head against the wall, ignoring Grace's quiet rebuke. “Around twenty hours.” The redhead could hear Haverson's nervous gulp from across the cavern. “There's just one snag in that plan, though.” If the Admiral noticed every Spartan and ODST flinch at the S-word, he didn't call attention to it. “I had a team of Marines – Charlie Company – that got wiped out before we could get to those Novas. Brave kids; a damned waste of good men. That's when I picked up Red Team on coded COM. I 'convinced' them to lend me a few of your Spartans. We got to the Novas, armed them, and we've been raising eight kinds of hell down here with hit-and-run exercises – just to keep everyone busy, you understand. Wouldn't want to get bored.” Very true; a bored Spartan was a disaster waiting to happen.

“And the rest of Red Team, sir?” John asked, barely concealed hope in his voice. He nearly wilted when Whitcomb shook his head.

“We got one last transmission from them before they said they were falling back.” Walking over to the table, the officer unrolled an old paper map and pointed at the Menachite Mountain. “Here. Where ONI had their CASTLE base.” He paused, looking at the Chief. “But the Covenant are tearing that mountain apart, rock by rock. I want to believe they're still there...but we've counted at least a dozen companies. Those Covenant have air support, close orbit patrols, and, on the ground, armor. The place is a fortress. Could anyone survive?”

Scrutinizing the map for several seconds, John was dangerously silent until he nodded firmly. “They're underground,” he said. “The CASTLE facility. We did a lot of training there.” It was the first Kaine had heard of it, but she supposed her siblings had had to be kept somewhere between augmentations and the war against Covenant. “The Covenant can fill up those tunnels with only so many search parties.”

“Then you think they all have a chance?”

“Yes, sir. More than a chance. I'd guarantee they're in there. That's where I'd be.”

Nodding, Whitcomb looked back at the map, tapping the Menachite Mountain with his finger, thinking, before suddenly looking up again. “You got into this canyon in a captured Covenant ship, right? A dropship?”

“Yes, sir.” That hadn't been mentioned in his report, but the Admiral was a smart man. He could figure things out on his own.

“Then we'll go get them, son.”

“Sir!” Haverson broke in, clearly upset. “With all due respect, sir, our first priority should be to get back to Earth. The intelligence we've gathered on the Halo construct, the technology aboard the flagship we've captured...Cortana's Slipspace calculations alone could turn the tide of the war for us.”

“I know all that,” Whitcomb grunted, clearly a bit irked at the ONI agent's attitude. “And you're three hundred percent correct, Lieutenant. But I won't leave a single man or woman behind on this planet for the Covenant to tear apart for sport. No way. And that goes double for a Spartan. We're going in.”

Haverson clearly wanted to argue again, but cut off with a _meep_ when a hand suddenly slapped right over his mouth. Startled, everyone turned to look at Kaine, her shoulder freshly bandaged and a scowl on her face. “One more word, Haverson,” she growled. “One more damn word and I will kill you myself and tell Parangosky you got killed by a Grunt. You've been trying to run the show since Halo, arguing with myself and the Master Chief more than any of us can afford. I don't give a crap that you are ONI. I don't give a crap that you prize information above every other damn thing in the universe. You have your orders; follow them.” It took far too many seconds, but the Lieutenant finally nodded and Faldon backed off.

“I assume you're in command, Commander?” Whitcomb asked, smiling cheerfully like nothing had happened.

“Nope,” the redhead replied, shaking her head happily. “Master Chief has tactical command. Right now, I'm just one of his soldiers.” No need to explain why every Spartan in the room just gave her the same look. “However, if I might suggest we get a move on? I'd rather not be here when those Novas detonate.” Nodding, John quickly started barking orders, having everyone grab supplies and shuttle them to the dropship. When Kaine went to grab a crate she was subjected to multiple glares, so she instead left the cavern and relieved the Spartan at the entrance, also taking the time to learn he was Li and reconnect with him in private.

A short time later, the dropship was flying back out of the canyon, loaded with the larger combat group and several crates of weaponry. Kaine helped Anton and Li lay everything out, ignoring the small cluster of officers near the cockpit. “We shouldn't have any issues with weaponry,” Anton was saying proudly, ticking off the inventory on his fingers: “Shotguns, a fuel rod gun, Jackhammer rocket launchers, plasma and HE pistols, and every type of grenade – take your pick.” Shifting back so the others could have first dibs, Faldon couldn't help a smile when Locklear tried to pick up the fuel rod gun. There was a reason most Covenant couldn't handle the weapon, and almost every alien species was stronger than humans. Although she did roll her eyes when Grace took the overly heavy weapon and shouldered it with ease. Show off.

“Make sure you grab a handgun,” Chief told Locklear as Kaine finally grabbed the weapons and ammo she wanted. “We'll be in close quarters underground.”

“Roger that,” the Corporal replied easily. The redhead was mildly impressed; he must have taken her threat on the ship to heart. She hadn't had to mediate between him and the Spartans once.

“We're close,” Whitcomb called, drawing Chief back to the front. In the silence left behind, Faldon noted that Anton was glancing at her. When she looked his way he tapped his helmet once, silently asking her to put hers on. With a mild look of disgust, she obeyed.

“Couldn't believe it when I heard you were alive,” Anton's voice said through a private COM, clearly carrying the smile he had to have been giving, “but it's even better to see you. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say you've been missed, Wildcat.”

“I second that,” Li announced, though he hadn't moved from his position by the wall. “Just about had a heart attack when you came out of the cavern, though. A little warning next time, please?”

“Hopefully I don't have to come back from the dead ever again, but your request is noted,” the redhead chuckled as the dropship suddenly went dark. Glancing forward, she didn't see anyone panicking, so she stayed where she was. “Besides, you hit me over the head when I spooked you, so I think we're even. So, CASTLE. New version of the playground?”

“Something like that,” Grace drawled, coming over to sit next to her sister. “We got transferred in after we accidentally killed a couple instructors. ONI had underestimated just how enhanced the augmentations made us. Speaking of, how did you re-acclimate your body without leaving a body trail? I mean, we had every tool available to help us keep control and we left a bloody path behind us. You were on your own.”

“For the most part,” Kaine agreed, though she shrugged. “An ODST I knew took me in. He had a cabin in the middle of nowhere, so that's where I stayed. Hard to leave a body trail when there were no bodies.” Harsh whispers from the cockpit were keeping her on edge, but she forced herself to relax enough to lean on Grace. “I've missed you all too.”

The ship suddenly lit up again as they reached the end of the tunnel. As though the light had been a signal, everyone that had been on the floor was instantly on their feet, ready for orders. They weren't long in coming. Whitcomb came back to them, mustache nearly vibrating with excitement. It made him look like a slightly psychotic bunny. Looking at Li, he nodded. “You're our rear guard, son. Stay here and guard the ship with Polaski. Sorry.”

“Sir! Yes, sir,” the Spartan answered, a touch of bitterness in his voice. Like any Spartan, he hated being left with what he thought was the 'safe' or 'easy' duty. But he had his orders and he would obey.

When the dropship hatches opened, everyone except Polaski and Li jumped out. Kaine went with Whitcomb's group, landing between Sergeant Johnson and Grace. She was keenly aware of John and Anton on the other side, but she kept her focus forward. They had the element of surprise, but it would not last long and she couldn't help but wonder how the Admiral planned to get them out. “Move, everyone,” the older officer growled, pointing quickly at Grace and Locklear. “You two, fire long-range weapons. Everyone else, haul ass. Take them out, people.”

Grace and Locklear obeyed quickly, firing the fuel rod gun and Jackhammer rockets, respectively. Everyone else started jogging forward, eating up ground quickly, but moving in a solid formation to better cover each other. Ahead, the Covenant was in chaos, but it wouldn't last long. “Keep moving,” Chief called. “Move while they don't know what hit them.” Out of the corner of her eye, Kaine saw Anton kneel for a brief second, before hearing him say that Kelly had been in the area. Quickly opening her COM to include Red Team's frequency (and she really needed to talk to John about how predictable his teams were getting with the radio bands they used) she heard, “Kelly? Fred? Will? Spartans, acknowledge this signal.” There was no response.

Suddenly, “Down!” Chief yelled, diving to one side. Everyone else followed his example, Grace barely dodging a barrage of plasma fire. Glancing around the boulder she was hiding behind, the redhead spotted the cluster of Jackals and Elites that her husband had seen. The shield phalanx was tricky to break, but she was sure he already had a plan.

“Grenades – up and over those shields, Spartans,” Whitcomb bellowed before Chief could say anything. Rolling her eyes, they really didn't need another officer that kept forgetting he wasn't in command, Kaine went ahead and tossed her own plasma grenade to join her siblings' weapons. There was a blast as the tiny balls did their job, and then Grace blew the rest of the formation apart with her fuel rod.

“Rad counter at max dosage,” the female Spartan called, dropping the heavy weapon. “This thing's too hot to use anymore.”

“Back away!” John yelled. “Those things have a fail safe!” Grace barely obeyed in time, springing back. She wouldn't have made it at all if Kaine hadn't grabbed her arm, using the Spartan's momentum to spin her around the boulder. The fuel rod gun blew with the force of a frag grenade, raining hot and blackened metal on them. In the confusion, a pair of battered Elites tried to get up. Faldon had barely spotted them before their chests exploded, as though they'd been shot from behind. Looking at the boulders the Covenant had been trying to clear, the redhead saw three Spartans. Just from the markings, she knew they were the ones they'd come for.

By the time Kaine had gotten to her feet, pulling Grace up as well, John had raced forward, so obviously happy it was nearly painful. Every Spartan cared for every other Spartan, but no one ever mattered more than teammates, so to suddenly have Fred and Kelly back must have been the most wonderful thing Chief could have ever had.

“Anton?” Fred said, his voice rough even over the suit speakers. “Grace...John?” He sounded like he wanted to believe what he was seeing, but couldn't. Faldon couldn't blame him.

“It's me,” John said, coming to a stop before them as Grace, Anton, and Kaine jogged in behind him. “I wish I had time to explain everything. I will – later. Let's get the hell out of here first.” Kelly took a quick step towards him, drawing the smile sign across his faceplate, before turning to greet the others. She visibly jumped when she saw Kaine, and instantly reached out to repeat the gesture. Protected by the hulk of her siblings, the redhead returned the sign, unable to wipe the smile from her face.

Then Admiral Whitcomb was skidding to a halt beside them, followed closely by the rest of the group. “Is this everyone?” he asked, clearly unwilling to spend a second longer down there than he had to.

“No, sir,” Fred replied. “There's one more.” He turned back to the tunnel they'd emerged from, holding out his hand. “Ma'am? It's safe to come out.” Even before anything moved, Kaine knew who he was talking to, so when Dr. Halsey appeared the redhead already had herself under control. Anger was simmering under her skin and she wanted to scream at the infuriating woman, but she held her tongue. There would be time to work frustrations out later.

“Admiral Whitcomb,” the ONI doctor said, acting like absolutely nothing was wrong, “a pleasure to see you again. My thanks for the rescue. It was far timelier than you could imagine.” Then she was looking at Chief, a slight smile on her face. “Or is it you I have to thank for this daring operation, John?” Faldon stiffened, bristling at the flippant use of her husband's name. As children it made them all feel so happy that the Doctor always saw them for who they were and not a number, but after everything that had happened, no one outside their siblings could use their given name so casually.

Unfortunately, the slight movement as Kaine stiffened had not gone unnoticed, and Halsey looked at her, picking out the uniform easily. She should; she'd seen it less than a month before. “Commander Faldon,” the older woman said, voice suddenly sharp and cold. “I see you've managed to cling to life stubbornly.” The other Spartans shifted nervously, torn between who to support. “And I suppose you'll want my thanks as well, for your no doubt minimal contribution?”

“Thank anyone you want, Catherine,” Whitcomb cut in, voice tight. “Throw us all a party if that'll make you happy...once we're out of here.” He clicked open his COM. “Polaski, get down-” He paused when Sergeant John suddenly grabbed his arm and nodded to the far wall. “What is it, Sergeant?” the Admiral asked, but his voice died in his throat. Everyone spun to face the indicated direction, eyes straining to see something. At first, they didn't. And then, “No one move,” they did. Kaine felt like ants were crawling over her skin as she stared upon the thousands of Covenant that were standing on each of the twelve balconies. She'd never known the aliens could stand so still.

Not a single human moved; they all barely breathed, except for Locklear's single heartfelt expletive. Realizing that there was no way out, no chance of survival, Kaine shifted just enough for her arm to brush against John's, feeling him lean back into her for a fraction of a second. Then a pair of Hunters suddenly roared and fired.

Kelly moved before anyone else, stepping in front of Dr. Halsey in a blur of motion. John and Fred moved to flank their teammate while Anton grabbed Whitcomb and Locklear, throwing both men behind him. Faldon was vaguely aware of Will shoving Johnson to safety before Grace had grabbed her and spun her around, covering the smaller ODST with her own body. Then there was a roar as the fuel rods struck the Spartans' shields, bright green light spilling over everything. Kaine could feel the heat all around her and she closed her eyes tightly, wondering if it was really the end for them. And then the heat was gone and she was able to break free from Grace's hold, spinning to face the group. Her relief at seeing everyone still standing vanished when she realized Kelly was down, her armor smoldering and hydrostatic gel boiling out of the emergency release vent along her left side.

The whine of a thousand plasma weapons warned them all that more was coming, and John dropped into a crouch over his fallen sister, but when Kaine looked up at the enemy, she realized they weren't shooting at the humans. They were shooting at the Hunters. The creatures were powerful, but they could not withstand the barrage. With a flash and roar, they were destroyed, along with part of the balcony and a dozen or so aliens that had been standing too close to the pair. “What the hell is this?” Johnson breathed, eyes wide. “Shouldn't we be dead by now?”

Far above them, an Elite in golden armor raised its sword and bellowed. Kaine's translator kicked in, quietly echoing, “Take them – but the next one to fire at the holy light will be skinned alive! Go!”

“The crystal,” Halsey whispered, capturing everyone's attention. “They're after the crystal.” Taking note of the blue stone the woman was holding, Faldon nodded, mind racing ahead. The Covenant was insanely religious; of course they would kill anyone that opened fire on an artifact. Fortunately, it gave the humans the advantage, so long as they held onto the thing.

“Polaski,” the redhead roared into her COM, moving quickly to kneel beside Kelly, heart racing with fear for her sister's life. “Get down here, ASAP! We need immediate extraction!”

“ _Roger that,_ ” was the calm reply. The Covenant was already closing in on them, forcing the Spartans to form a perimeter and start firing. Johnson, Locklear, Whitcomb, and Haverson formed an inner ring, throwing grenades everywhere they saw danger while Kaine and Halsey hunkered over Kelly. The redhead sighed in relief when the doctor confirmed that the Spartan was still alive, if only barely. When John turned to try and pick of his teammate, Faldon spun to stand in his way, picking her sister up with a barely audible groan. She didn't care that Halsey was staring at her, she didn't care that she should not have been able to do what she did. Kelly needed to get out and they needed every able Spartan in battle to accomplish that goal.

The dropship reappeared from the tunnel, coming straight at them as fast as possible. With a yell, Kaine shifted to the side, Fred hard on her heels. Once the ship was low enough and the side hatches were open, the Spartan leapt on and Kaine passed Kelly up to him. Turning back around, she bellowed and Halsey came running. Barely taking care not to hurt the older woman, the redhead nearly flung her aboard, though she was much more respectful with helping Whitcomb scramble up. Anton and Grace followed, then Locklear and Haverson. However, when Will finally reached her he refused to get on until she'd scrambled up the ramp, her brother hard on her heels. Sergeant Johnson and Chief were the last to board, Polaski lifting off the second the pair were even vaguely secured. For a moment, Kaine could see the cavern and felt her skin crawl. There were so many Covenant; they looked like a hive of angry ants. But then the hatches slid shut.

Looking around, the redhead saw that John was helping Halsey strap Kelly in, the strange crystal floating next to them. Like, seriously floating. Weird.

Spotting Locklear and Johnson in a corner of the ship, the ODST made her way over. She was nearly itching to check the rest of her siblings, but she knew they could take care of themselves. It was her soldiers that she was worried about. However, before she could say anything, the ship lurched, like it couldn't decide if it wanted to go up or down. “Li!” Whitcomb yelled from the cockpit. “Crawl topside and launch a couple of Jackhammers up this pipe.” The Spartan was all too happy to oblige, but Faldon frowned when she heard the Admiral's mutter. He didn't think it would work.

It didn't matter what he thought, apparently, as Li opened the hatch and the interior of the ship was flooded by the purple light of the grav beam. That wasn't the important part, though. The important part was that damn crystal Halsey had had, shifting to look like a blooming flower. It almost seemed to absorb the purple light and then it pulsed green for a sparse second. Just like that, the grav beam vanished and the ship lurched, Polaski barely gaining control again to fly them out. “Gravity,” Dr. Halsey said, staring at the innocent looking stone. “This thing warped space when we first approached. It apparently has an effect on artificial gravity fields as well. I can't wait to get this into a lab.”

The ship emerged into open air, the crystal shifting back into a shard as they left the grav beam. However, they were surrounded by enemy ships, including six massive cruisers. “Out of the frying pan,” Locklear muttered.

“They've got weapons lock,” Polaski announced, her voice cracking just slightly.

“They won't fire,” Whitcomb said confidently, and Kaine had to agree. “They want whatever the doctor and her team discovered...and they want it bad enough to let us shoot at them and not so much as spit in our direction.”

“Sir,” Chief cut in, glancing back at Kelly again. “We're to rendezvous with Cortana and the captured flagship at oh-seven-fifteen hours. That gives us only twenty minutes, sir.”

“Understood, son. Polaski, get us out of here. Plot a course to your rendezvous point – and make this crate fly as fast as you can!”

“Aye aye, sir,” the pilot replied, angling the ship up and gunning the engine. The Covenant controlled dropships followed, forming up around in an attempt to stop them. “They're boxing us in,” Polaski said, edging back the speed.

“Warrant Officer,” the Admiral said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Ram them. Full speed.”

“Aye, sir.” The dropship lurched forward as she maxed their velocity, the Seraph fighters around them falling back sharply to avoid a collision. Whitcomb was right; they'd do anything to avoid possibly damaging the crystal.

“Does anyone else think it's a little crowded up here?” Locklear asked from the back, getting Kaine's attention. Surprised, she looked at the port display he was focused on and gulped. There had been a dozen small warships circling Reach when they'd gone down, but there were three times that number lying in wait. Forget the frying pan and the fire, they were going through each level of hell.

“Cortana's been busy in our absence,” Haverson noted, pointing to the debris that was scattered about. As much as Faldon agreed, she was worried. If Cortana had been so busy...where was she?

“Singleships, drones, and Elite boarding parties on intercept vectors,” Polaski announced. “Inbound – Jesus. They're inbound from all directions.”

“Get us to the rendezvous coordinates,” Whitcomb ordered sharply. “And don't spare the horses.”

“Sir, these _are_ the rendezvous coordinates.” No matter what screen was looked at, the flagship was not be seen. They were alone, facing down what felt like the entire Covenant fleet. Kaine could see John wilt, and felt her heart clench at the sight. Almost without thinking, she sent him a short message over their HUDs. _It'll be okay._ Then –

BAM!!!

– the flagship appeared right before them, attached to a UNSC ship Faldon recognized as the _Gettysburg_. Seemed Cortana had been busier than they'd originally thought. “ _Chief_ ,” Cortana said through the dropship's speakers, sounding very pleased with herself, “ _your ride here._ ”

“Acknowledged,” John replied, sound perfectly at ease, as though he hadn't been staring into the face of certain death just a second before. The Spartans weren't fooled though, they could see the way the strength nearly went out of his legs with relief. Polaski wasted no time flying into the open bay, setting the dropship down with a sound of pure joy as the bay shields slid shut behind them, protecting the interior from attack.

“Locklear, Johnson, sweep the area; make sure no Covenant bastards broke in while we were away,” Faldon barked, taking command. “Master Chief, take two of your Spartans and get to the Bridge; lock it down again. Everyone else, I don't care how, I don't where, just find all the medical supplies you can.” Everyone leapt into action, running about to follow her orders. At least, until they saw what was happening outside the bay. They were supposed to be in Slipspace but...something wasn't right.

“We jumped to Slipspace, didn't we?” Haverson asked nervously, hanging close to the dropship as John ventured as close to the bay's shields as he could.

“Yes,” Dr. Halsey answered, a frown on her face. “And no.” Pulling the crystal out of her pocket, she revealed that it had changed form again. “We jumped, but not to the Slipspace we know.”

“Secure that, Anton,” Chief barked, turning back to them and nodding to the stone. “Get it into the reactor compartment of the Longsword.” The Spartan obeyed instantly, not caring that Halsey was reluctant to release her prize. “There was a radiation surge, Doctor,” John explained, following his brother's movements. “And that thing is the source.”

“Whatever it is, it warps space,” Halsey said, grudgingly scrutinizing the world outside their shields. “When we first approached it in the great room, space curled around the crystal. And again the grav beam, it dispersed that field potential.”

“And now?” Whitcomb asked, coming up behind the pair. “This thing is affecting our passage through Slipspace?”

“Apparently so.”

Nodding, the Admiral shifted his gaze to the Covenant ships that had joined them, noting the red turrets. “Can they even fire those things in Slipspace? If they can, we're sitting ducks.” As though in response, the closest enemy ship released a barrage of burning plasma that shot straight toward the conjoined ships. Everyone in the bay braced for impact, but the shots suddenly swerved away at the last second, seemingly out of control.

“What the hell is this?” Johnson asked, having joined the small group near the entrance. “I didn't think their ships could fire in Slipspace. Ours sure as hell can't.”

“Normally, they can't,” Halsey agreed, removing her glasses. “If they can fire, then logically, we're not in Slipspace. And wherever we are, the rules have changed.”

“Cortana,” Whitcomb barked, face screwed up in a frown. “Whatever you do, do not return-” Too late. The conjoined ships returned fire, adding a new set of uncontrolled weaponry to race about. Three of the wandering shots splashed into a Covenant ship, taking it out, and Johnson cheered, but it was cut off quickly when Halsey reminded them they were all in the same danger. Those bolts could take out the flagship as fast as they took out a cruiser.

“Cortana, drop the launch bay blast doors!” Chief yelled suddenly, taking a hasty step back. “Now!” With a groan, the three-meter-thick door started sliding down. Not a second later, a plasma blast shot right past them on a parallel course, so close that it raised the temperature of the air by twenty degrees, despite the ship's shields. John, the closest to the door, was unharmed, but his armor was covered by tiny bolts of static electricity and his shields were humming. Another fireball exploded across the shields, making them flicker and fade, but they held. Barely. And then the blast door was down, sealing in with a subsonic _thud_.

“ _Blast door locked and secured,_ ” Cortana announced.

“Let's get this boat under way while we still have a boat,” Whitcomb ordered, looking around with a frown. “Chief, lead the way to the bridge.”

“Yes, sir,” the Spartan said, but before he took a step, he turned towards his Spartans. “Fred, Will, you stay with Commander Faldon and take care of Kelly. Everyone else, follow me.” Saluting, the two Spartans stepped back as everyone jogged out of the bay.

“Anyone else have a bad feeling about this?” the redhead sighed, pulling her helmet off at last, rolling a kink out of her injured shoulder. She could feel the blood starting to seep through the bandage, but resolutely ignored it. “Come on, help me get the medical supplies sorted.”

“Right,” Fred agreed, tugging off his own helmet as he jumped back into the dropship. Grabbing the crates that Whitcomb and crew had loaded up, he pulled them out, quickly sorting through the supplies, pulling out anything even vaguely medical. Will helped him out while Kaine settled next to Kelly, keeping an eye on her biomonitors. “Hey Klare?” The redhead looked up. “It's good to see you again.”

“Same,” she smiled tiredly before looking back down at her sister. “Now focus; we can celebrate later.” The trio fell into a barely comfortable silence until, suddenly, the interior bay doors slid open again. John and the Spartans jogged back through, Polaski hard on their heels. “Master Chief?” Kaine called, jumping out of the dropship to meet them. “What's wrong?”

“We need to head out, do some repairs,” her husband replied, tense and clearly worried. “I'm sorry, but I'll need Fred and Will back.”

“You got them,” she replied, nodding firmly. “Just help me get Kelly off the ship and somewhere slightly secure.” Without waiting for his reaction, she turned around and climbed back onboard, making a beeline for the downed Spartan. Moving quickly, she undid the straps before John joined her, then helping him pick up their injured sister and carefully walk her down the ramp. The other Spartans had jerry-rigged a stretcher that Kelly was laid upon, each one giving the unconscious Spartan a whispered farewell before following Polaski onto the dropship. Chief and Kaine were the last, and they took advantage of their solitude to share a heartbreakingly short hug before he took off and she stepped away. Feeling her danger sense clawing its way through her mind, she watched the dropship leave and suddenly knew she wouldn't be seeing all of them again. “Goodbye,” she whispered. There was no reply.

Settling down beside Kelly, Kaine sighed, resting her head on her bent knee for a brief moment. She'd been going non stop since the attack on Reach began, and she was starting to feel every scrape and bruise she'd accumulated. Her body was screaming for sleep, but her skin was crawling with danger warning and she couldn't stop moving. So, with a pained grunt, she got back to her feet just as the door slid open again, revealing Sergeant Johnson. “Commander,” he said gently, nodding to her. “Dr. Halsey requested Kelly be brought up on to the bridge so she could start treating her wounds.”

“Right,” the redhead sighed, rolling her shoulders to loosen them up before grabbing her helmet and slipping it on. “Grab one of the green bags; they have the medical supplies.” The Marine obeyed, not asking when she picked up the other two, slinging them over her back. “Take the head, Sergeant, and I'll grab the feet. We're going feet first, so keep an eye open for anything nasty behind me.”

“Yes ma'am,” Johnson said, moving quickly to the top of the stretcher. Crouching at the head, he lifted when Faldon did, grunting in surprise at the weight but noting that the Commander didn't seemed bothered at all. Carefully, the pair started walking through the halls, making sure not to disturb the downed Spartan any more than they had to. When they reached the bridge, Halsey had them set Kelly down to the side, instantly kneeling beside the injured soldier. She barely reacted when Kaine handed her the medical bags, focused fully on her charge. In that single aspect, the redhead couldn't hate the older woman. No matter what, she knew the scientist would do anything possible to protect and save a Spartan. Except, apparently, admit that her project was wrong.

Glancing at Whitcomb, the ODST felt a sliver of curiosity curl in her chest. She knew the man from before; he'd been a good friend of Eric's and always had a smile and kind word for her. However, it was her first time seeing him in combat situations, and she had to admit, she was impressed. He was handling the situation with all the skill and dedication of a Spartan, not letting anything faze him for more than a second. Admirable, but she wondered how he did it.

“Doctor Halsey,” the Admiral suddenly said, not looking their way. “Clear my bridge of the wounded, ASAP.” If he felt the redhead suddenly start glaring at him, he didn't show it.

“Admiral,” Halsey argued, face knitted in a frown. “I don't want to move her. She's not entirely stable.”

“Do it, Doctor. She's a distraction. We have a battle to fight here.” From the looks the older man was receiving, he would be dead in short order, though if he'd be killed by the doctor or the ODST was up in the air.

“Ma'am, there's an escape craft just off the bridge,” Haverson cut in, trying to keep the peace. Going over to the needed hatch, he popped it open and scanned the space beyond, pistol at the ready, before turning back. “It's clear. Locklear, Sergeant, please give the doctor a hand with her patient.”

“Yes, sir,” Locklear said. “Happy to sit this battle out in an escape pod.” His tone indicated his sarcasm, saving him from the fiery tongue of his commander, though she did glare at him slightly.

“Come on, Corporal,” Johnson said, moving into position by the stretcher, “shake a leg and gimme a hand. The lady in her armor weighs more than your last date.” Grunting from the effort, the pair were able to lift the Spartan and move her off the bridge, Halsey following like a thundercloud. When the hatch sealed shut again, Kaine turned sharply and left the bridge, feeling her anger simmering under her skin. She knew the Admiral had a reason for removing Kelly from the bridge, but she didn't have to like it and nothing was forcing her to stay. So she stomped back down to the launching bay, heading straight to the Longsword. Despite everything, the cryotubes were still inside, and if she couldn't sit with one sister, she'd sit with another.

“Hey, sis,” the redhead sighed, easing herself down to lean against Linda's tube and pulling her helmet off once more, chucking it towards the front of the ship. “You have no idea how badly I wish you were here right now. You always knew what to say to make everything seem better.” Falling silent, she let the stillness of the bay wrap around her. She knew that things weren't as peaceful as they appeared; they were flying through a dangerous firestorm in space and Covenant was literally all around them. Whether she admitted it or not, they were in a bad spot and the odds of survival were much lower than she cared to think about. Her brothers and sister were outside the ship, trying to repair something she wasn't sure could be fixed, and all she could do was twiddle her thumbs. “I'm scared,” she whispered, wishing beyond anything else that Linda could hear her. “It was bad enough to hear about everything you guys were doing, knowing I wasn't there to help, but that was also better because I'd know if you made it or not. This...this sitting and waiting thing...it's killing me. We weren't trained to do this sort of thing. It's not in our nature.” Looking over her shoulder, she could see the iced helmet, and she felt like that same ice was wrapping itself around her heart. “I hate being helpless, sis. I hate being scared.” Closing her eyes, she lay her head down on the tube, feeling the cold bite at her cheek. She was so tired...so tired...

“Commander Faldon!” Jumping, the redhead woke suddenly, cheek burning from the cold it had been pressed against for so long. Before she could get upset about having fallen asleep, she could hear pounding on the side of the Longsword, followed by, “Commander! Are you in there?!”

“Locklear?” Kaine called back, getting back to her feet stiffly and crawling back through the hatch. “What the hell is wrong?” Any anger she'd felt vanished when she saw the Corporal's panicked face.

“Sir, it's the Spartans,” her ODST said before she could ask anything else. “They repaired the breach in the conduit and we defeated the Covenant before dropping out of Slipspace, but now the Spartans aren't responding to any of our messages. Cortana says she can't pick up any biosigns and the external cameras were all damaged.” Taking a deep breath, the redhead forced down the panic that was instantly clawing at her. She couldn't help her siblings if she was paralyzed with fear.

“Are you qualified to fly the Longsword?” she asked instead, mind leaping ahead. Her suit could function in a vacuum for a short amount of time, but she'd need someone to fly her out to the site. Vincent could, but that would expose him far more than she could afford with Haverson sniffing about.

“No, sir,” Locklear answered, worry on his face. “Polaski was the only one that could fly one of those things.” Growling, Faldon raked a hand through her hair. So much for that plan.

“Fine, then get back to the bridge and distract Haverson; I don't care how. Just buy me some time.” Nodding, the ODST ran off as his commander climbed back into smaller ship. “Vincent, plot a course that will get us close to the Spartans' last known position.”

“ _Already on it,_ ” the AI answered instantly, still sounding a little strained. His time on the Halo ring had bogged him down, but he was able to section the new data off to continue functioning. “ _Please remember, your suit will only last a couple minutes in space. You'll need to move fast._ ”

“I'm a Spartan,” she growled, closing the hatch and quickly sealing her armor. “I'll move fast enough. Just get me there.” Her resident voice-in-her-head chose not to answer, instead working his way into the ship's controls and starting the engines. “Do I need to ask Cortana to open the bay doors?”

“ _Negative,_ ” Vincent sighed, giving her a mental look of exasperation. “ _I can manage a simple act like opening a door on my own, thank you. I'm not that handicapped._ ” Choosing not to answer, Kaine finished with her armor, sliding the helmet on last and making sure the seals activated. There was a brief second where she couldn't breathe, and then the stored air started flowing, bearing a faintly plastic taste and smell.

Strapping down the cryotubes, the redhead attached her tether to the Longsword's deck before she started pacing as her AI flew the ship into position. Forcing herself to remember Mendez's lesson on retrieval in zero-G environments, she mentally talked herself through the process again in an attempt to stay calm/sane. However, she couldn't deny a spike of dread when the interior light suddenly flashed and Vincent announced they were in position. Bracing herself against the weapons locker, Kaine let her AI open the hatch, felt the air explode out violently, and then she was moving, looking outside.

Right away, she knew things were going to be bad. From the scorch marks and melted metal, it was clear that a plasma bolt had overtaken the group. There was no sign of the Covenant dropship, which meant Polaski was gone. That was going to hit Locklear hard, but the officer didn't have time to worry about him. Instead, her focus was on the suits of armor that had been tethered to the ship's hull, now floating freely. Four. Six Spartans had gone out, and she could only find four suits. Despite being able to pick John out easily, Kaine still felt her heart break a little more.

However, she shoved the pain aside as she quickly pushed herself away from the Longsword, angling herself to hit one of her siblings. Back in training, they'd all worked to the point where they had about a fifty-fifty chance in hitting their target on the first try in zero-G, but the ODSTs were a lot pickier, and she'd been drilled until she never missed. Although that didn't stop her wince when she made contact, feeling the impact jar through her. “How the hell are you guys heavy hitters when you're unconscious and floating?” she grumbled, quickly freeing the Spartan from their tether and adding them to her own before pulling herself back into the Longsword. It took several seconds to figure out how to lash her sibling to the ship, but once she had them secure she went back to the hatch. Ignoring the warning from her suit, she picked her next target and launched. Refusing to think about how much time she had left or the fact that none of the Spartans were reacting to her presence, she repeated her actions until every one of her siblings was stored safely inside the ship. “Vincent, seal the hatch and get us out of here.”

“ _Right away. Be advised, we've received orders to dock with the_ UNSC Gettysburg _as it has a functioning medical bay. Cortana is not even aware of where the Covenant infirmary is, let alone if those supplies could be of any use. Locklear and Johnson are on their way to the launch bay as we speak; they will help you carry everyone through the halls._ ”

“Acknowledged. Now move.” Watching as the hatch closed and sealed, the redhead waited for the ship to pressurize again before ripping off her helmet, resisting the urge to curl in a ball. Her muscles were cramping badly, side-effect of the exposure to zero-G for so long. Despite all the enhancements of her suit, she couldn't stand being in space for extended periods of time. Certainly not as long as the Spartans could. However, she couldn't pass out yet. Besides freaking out Locklear and Johnson, it would mean Halsey would need to examine her, and that would blow up in her face in two seconds flat. So she forced herself to remain awake as her AI piloted the Longsword into the bay.

Feeling as the ship settled and gravity reasserted itself, the ODST quickly got to her feet, frowning when things didn't feel right. “ _Cortana has restored partial gravity to the section of the ship, but not full so that it will be possible to carry the Spartans. She also warns that this section of the ship is structurally unstable and suggests we move as soon as possible._ ”

“Easier said than done,” Kaine sighed, checking her siblings and finding them in the same state as before. Unresponsive. “Open the hatch and lower the ramp so we can move.” Vincent didn't respond, instead following orders and revealing the concerned ODST and marine that were waiting outside. “Locklear, Johnson, grab a Spartan and move, we don't have time for delicateness.” They obeyed without a word, neither one mentioning when she grabbed John and nearly threw him over her shoulder. She was very aware that her siblings could be injured, but the suit would protect them from further harm and they needed to move.

Running through the halls, the redhead tried really hard to keep focused, moving at a pace any other human would consider fast but, to her, was painfully slow. Every second that passed made her worry increase, thinking about the Spartan and cryotubes they'd left behind. Spotting the medical wing, she hurried over, grateful that Halsey hadn't arrived yet. “Set your burden on a bed and get back to the ship for the others,” she barked, laying her husband on the cot closest, refusing to admit that she was scared. Without waiting for either man to reply, she flew right back out the door, running as fast as she dared. She had not, however, realized just how much damage had been done to her body, which slowed her down significantly. By the time she'd pulled herself back into the Longsword, Locklear and Johnson had arrived. “Johnson, grab the last Spartan; Locklear, you get the cryotube. I'll fly the Longsword back to the Covenant ship where it will be safe.”

“We're on it, Commander,” Johnson said with a little wave, quickly grabbing the last Spartan and running back off the ship. Locklear took a little longer, giving his commander a worried look before hurrying to obey. Only when they were gone did the redhead allow herself to slump, allowing Vincent to fly them out. She was silent as the AI flew them back to _Ascendant Justice's_ launch bay, muscles screaming profanities at her. It was probably a good thing John was unconscious.

Exiting the craft as it settled onto the alien deck, Kaine started running through the halls, heading for the bridge. Halsey was no doubt on her way to the Spartans, but Admiral Whitcomb would most likely remain in a command center. Somehow, she knew that any fight that would occur over the Spartans would be with him, and she wanted to head that conflict off as soon as she could. Her siblings couldn't afford to wait. “Admiral,” she barked the second she stepped onto the bridge, “we need to talk about the Spartans. Now.”

“I've already sent Doctor Halsey to treat them; what more needs to be discussed?” Whitcomb replied, frowning in confusion.

“You lost two Spartans on that damn repair job,” the redhead snarled, not bothering to hide her emotions because, dammit all, she was exhausted and injured and she'd just lost two siblings! “I'm not even sure if the four we dragged back in are alive, and every second that goes by we come closer to losing the one that was injured. I understand that you're trying to think of the big picture here, but I'm sure I'm not exaggerating when I say that our best chance of survival depends on the Spartans. With two down we need to prioritize the treatment of the remaining five and the resurrection of the dead.”

“I was under the impression ODSTs dislike Spartans,” Haverson said, voice holding more than a hint of skepticism. “Why are you so concerned, Commander?”

“Let's just say I owe them more life debts then I care to dictate to ONI,” Kaine growled, eyes flashing in a way that made the Admiral take a step back. “Most of the friction between ODSTs and Spartans started long before I signed up and I've never given a shit over it; they are just as human as my men and if no one else in the UNSC is going to remember that I will. Besides, Spartan's are under ONI command, so you should be the one arguing for their care. Since you're not, it falls to me as the highest ranked person on this ship. Now back off before I remember that you are _not_ essential to our survival.” Ignoring his look of shock, she focused back on Whitcomb, wondering if he'd caught the veiled threat. The entire time since Chief had rescued the small group, the redhead had kept quiet. She followed the Spartan without complaint and never threw her rank around, except to put Haverson back in his place. That didn't mean that she'd forgotten about the stars on her shoulder. She was still slightly uncomfortable with holding her father's position, but she'd use it to get the Spartans the help they needed.

“I'll discuss the situation with Doctor Halsey once she has assessed all of the Spartans,” Whitcomb said, nodding slightly. Just like Haverson, he'd probably forgotten that she outranked him, even if just barely. “If we can treat and revive them all with the supplies and time we have, we will.” Nodding sharply, the redhead turned on her heel and stalked away, needing to work off some of her frustration. Following Vincent's instructions, she made her way through the alien ship and finally crawled through the connection Cortana had forced, emerging in the battered remains of the _Gettysburg_. There was a brief moment when she felt a twinge of pain that the thought of the formerly magnificent ship. Eric had sung her praises when the ship had taken her maiden voyage, but now all that was left was twisted metal and haunted halls.

“Commander!” Startled, Kaine glanced over to see Locklear jogging toward her. “I was just coming to find you. Halsey said to report that all four Spartans you brought in are alive, though injured. She's started treatment for them and Johnson and I are to bring the other Spartan up as soon as possible.” A coil of worry that had been settled low in the redhead's gut loosened and she allowed the relief to show for a brief second. However, that expression didn't last long when she recognized the look on Locklear's face. “Sir, was there...did you find any signs of...?”

“I'm sorry,” Faldon whispered, feeling her stomach fall again as she thought of what she'd seen outside the ship. “There was no sign of the dropship or Polaski. We lost her.” She watched as the grief washed over her soldier's face, unable to do anything but wait. Every ODST reacted to loss differently, and as an officer she'd learned to help them through the pain, but she knew treating them the wrong way for their reaction would cause more harm than good, so she waited. It wasn't until Locklear's face crumpled that she moved, laying a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. She chose to remain silent as words were useless, and she knew it very well.

“You're a Spartan, aren't you?” The redhead froze, brain refusing to understand what was just said. But then Locklear was giving her that same look, the one that Lea had given so many years before, and she had to admit that he had in fact said what she thought he'd said. “That's why you follow the Chief, why you always have his back, why you care about them so much.”

“You seem pretty calm about it,” Kaine drawled, though she was cursing herself slightly. Her squad had proven themselves to be very supportive of her past, but Locklear was a very different case. Not only had he been trained by and served with Major Silva, but she'd also been overly rough on him ever since John had reappeared in her life.

“I'm not really,” he admitted, shrugging. “I'm upset, but I can't figure out if it's because of you being a Spartan or...” His voice trailed off as he clearly thought about the female he'd lost. “Truth be told, I wasn't sure if you were one of them until I saw the relief on your face just now. But it's not like you've been acting any different since the Chief saved us. You're still you, still my Commander, so it can't be all bad, right? Besides,” he tried to smile, “I'll just go shoot up a room to work everything out.”

“Don't get hit by ricochets,” Kaine chuckled, barely relaxing. There would be fall out, she was sure of it, but it looked like her ODSTs loyalty would outweigh his dislike for the Spartans.

“Yes, sir,” Locklear said, nodding before looking serious. “And I'm ordering you to bed and sleep.” Blinking, the redhead could only stare for a second before sighing with a wry grin. Years ago she'd given the ODSTs a standing order to order her to sleep if they ever caught her pushing herself too hard. Most of the time it was her squad to call her on the abuse, but seemed Locklear was stepping in.

“Is it that obvious?” she smirked, unsurprised when he nodded. “Alright, duly noted, Corporal. I'll go find a room with a bed that can support life and you go find someplace to rage in private. But you come to me if you need anything, understood?” He nodded, his face a little tighter, so Faldon stepped aside and let him pass. Her heart clenched at the thought of what he was going through, but this was a part of the process she couldn't help with.

“ _The crew quarters are one deck up,_ ” Vincent chimed in, sounding a little rough around the edges. He was likely exhausted with all the work he'd been doing, on top of the data download. “ _Structural integrity is sound in that section of the ship, so it is safe for you to rest there. I'll wake you if anything happens._ ” Sending him a tired confirmation, Kaine tiredly trudged through the hall, taking a lift to the next deck and choosing a room at random. Barely noting anything other than the bed, she stumbled over before simply falling onto the mattress. She was asleep before she could think to remove any of her uniform.

 

“ _I'm sorry, but it's time to wake up, Commander._ ” Groaning, the redhead rolled over, burying her head under the pillow. “ _You do realize that's not going to make a difference with me literally in your head, correct?_ ”

“It makes me feel better, so shut up,” the ODST sighed, reluctantly removing the pillow and sitting up. “How long was I asleep?”

“ _Not long enough, but you've got about five hours of rest,_ ” he answered. “ _You should know that John is awake and being stupid; he's on his way to the bridge as we speak. If you move quickly, you can get to the lift and cut him off._ ” Muttering under her breath about idiotic husbands, Kaine got to her feet and hurried out of the room, feeling her muscles give a residual twinge. That zero-G expedition was going to screw her over the rest of the trip.

Slamming her hand against the lift call button, the redhead waited impatiently until the doors slid open, revealing the Master Chief. For a few seconds they just stared at each other, not caring that there was a HUD between them; they'd never needed to actually see each other for there to be understanding. Knowing better than to tell the man that he should be resting, especially since she should be as well, Kaine settled for stepping in beside him, letting the door slide shut. They were silent for several seconds before John sighed. “Covenant knows where Earth is,” he said quietly. Startled, the ODST looked up sharply, eyes wide but then clouding as Vincent agreed.

“It had to happen,” she muttered, leaning against the back of the lift with a tiny growl. “I just always hoped it wouldn't be _now_ , you know?” There was no answer, but she could feel the Spartan shift to lightly press against her.

Then the lift arrived at it's destination and the doors opened, allowing the pair to step out. Looking around at the enormous bridge, Kaine felt a deep sorrow invade her mind. That section of the ship should have held over thirty people, but instead it had was occupied by only Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant Haverson. “Commander Faldon, Master Chief,” the older officer said, clearly surprised to see them.

“Sir,” John said briskly, snapping a salute as his wife gave a little wave. “Permission to enter the bridge.”

“Granted, son.”

“What's your status, Chief?” Haverson asked, a look of concern on his face. “Doctor Halsey told us it would be days before you recovered.”

“I'm one hundred percent, sir.” A snort from behind made him turn and glare, silently warning the ODST to hold her tongue. To be fair, she couldn't really argue with him after all the stuff she'd done with her injured shoulder. Which, honestly, she needed to get fixed soon. Then the taller Spartan tilted his head and she realized he was talking on his private COM. No doubt it was Halsey, demanding he return to the medical bay; an order he would ignore despite the fact that he really shouldn't.

“Get over here, son,” Whitcomb said with a nod, turning back to the giant map he was standing before. “We're in something of a tough spot.”

“Cortana briefed me, sir,” Chief admitted, though he obeyed and moved to stand beside the Admiral. Kaine ignored them all, boosting herself up to sit on the main display board. She knew Haverson was glaring at her, but Vincent needed the contact to fully interface with the ship's systems and hopefully find a way out for them, as well as helping Cortana manage the data she'd taken from the Halo. “The Covenant know Earth's location and are on the move, most likely preparing a massive attack.”

“That's the gist of it, I'm afraid,” the ONI spook agreed, clearly tired. “To complicate matters, we can barely navigate. We've been working around the clock to restore our ships, but we'd need an engineering crew of a hundred and a space dock to get these wrecks into fighting shape.”

“Another trick is that the crystal we picked up on Reach emits radiation in Slipspace,” the Admiral cut in, apparently trying to appear positive. “Enough to kill everyone after only a few more hours to exposure. But we're hanging on to the alien device. It changes the properties of Slipspace, as you already saw – but with one more twist. In the few minutes we were in that tangled version of Slipspace, we traveled here,” he drew a circle on the map, “which under normal circumstances should have taken us days.”

“We attempted to briefly jump again,” Haverson admitted, “but nothing extraordinary occurred. This unusually long jump may have been caused by the energy added to Slipspace by our battle with the Covenant.”

“Or it could be the crystal is just a finicky bastard,” the ODST drawled, earning another glare from the Lieutenant and a look of exasperation from her husband. “The thing is a deadly mystery and must be Forerunner or Covenant wouldn't be so interested in it. We may never understand what triggers it and what won't.”

Gritting his teeth, Haverson clearly restrained himself and focused on the map, touching one of the star symbols near them. A scroll of data appeared and he scanned it quickly before sighing. “This system was glassed in 2530, so there's no chance there would be anyone to help us there. And the other two systems...” he shook his head. “Uninhabited.”

“Hell,” Whitcomb groaned, tugging on his mustache. “We pulled out of this region of space almost as soon as the war started. The Covenant came in, burned Eridanus and the other Outer Colonies, and then moved on without batting an eye.”

“Eridanus?” Chief echoed, making Kaine perk up. She knew that tone in his voice; hope. “I know this place, and there is a human colony there, sir – just not one that the UNSC cares about anymore. If I had to guess, I'd bet that the Covenant never found it, either. We might be able to expedite repairs there.”

Confused, the redhead got back to her feet, moving over to look at the spot on the map that John had tapped. The Eridanus planet was gone, she knew that, but there had to be something there to catch his attention. A vague memory pulled at her, hearing reports of a Spartan mission back when she'd been recovering from augmentations. Hadn't she heard something about an asteroid belt? “You sure?” Whitcomb asked John, clearly concerned. “Sure enough to bet our lives and Earth on the hunch, Chief?”

“Yes, sir. I'm sure.”

“If the Chief says there's something in that area, we should check it out,” the ODST cut in, heading off any argument. “Cortana, get us there as fast as possible.” Looking over her shoulder, she waited to see if Whitcomb and Haverson would argue. They did not.

“ _Course plotted,_ ” the female AI said from the ship's speakers, flicking into view on a nearby projector, giving the redhead a look that could not be translated.

“Very well, Commander,” the Admiral conceded, though he still seemed skeptical. “But in the meantime, I highly suggest you get some more rest. From the reports I've been hearing, you've been going full tilt since the Battle of Reach started. That, plus your wound, means you should conserve as much energy as possible.” Kaine wanted to argue, she really did, but the glare she could feel roasting the side of her head from her husband was enough to make her hold her tongue and nod.

“Admiral, Doctor Halsey has requested that I speak with her; I can escort the Commander to the medical bay.” Okay, okay, she deserved that. No Spartan was good about going for medical treatment, but she was probably the worst. So instead of glaring at John like she wanted, she nodded and quietly followed when he left. Though she made sure he knew she was mad as soon as the doors to the lift slid shut. “Don't argue with me, sir. You need the help.”

“Vincent has already rewritten your recording systems,” the redhead sighed, glaring at last. “You can stop censoring yourself.”

“Alright, fine,” the Spartan snorted, relaxing and looking down at her with his own glare. “I can forgive you getting injured during the Battle of Reach. I can even forgive you for not getting treated on Halo. But your utter disregard for your own well-being is going to result in your death, and I'm not willing to give you up just yet. You _should_ have gotten treated while I was unconscious, but you managed to weasel your way out of that-”

“I was _sleeping_ ,” she hissed, going toe-to-toe with him and cursing the augmentations that made him so much taller. “And I _can't_ get my wound treated, because Halsey would be the one to patch me up and you know damn well why I can't allow her to figure out who I am. This might come as a surprise to you, but I do know how to take care of myself; I've done it for decades. I've done what I can on my own and I haven't pushed myself to any dangerous point since we got the Index, so back off.” The lift came to a stop, doors sliding open without a sound, and Kaine took off, her rage giving her the strength to stomp away despite her body's protests. At least, until a large hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her back.

That turned out to be a very bad idea as the action triggered the smaller Spartan's training. Without thought, she reached back and grabbed the offending arm, twisting to draw her husband over her waist and throw him down the hall. There was a loud crash as he slammed into the metal walls, leaving a good sized dent, followed by a clatter as he fell to the floor in a heap. For several long seconds, the pair was silent until the redhead stomped away, leaving John to sort himself out on his own. Ignoring the small part of her mind that felt bad for throwing the man, the ODST wandered the halls until she found a room with a pair of beds. Giving Vincent strict orders to not bother her, she crawled under the covers and curled up in a ball, trying very hard to will herself back to sleep. She could still feel the call of unconsciousness nipping at her, but despite her best attempts, she could not settle down. Now that the edge of her exhaustion had been taken off, her battle senses were maintaining an aggravating buzz.

When the door slid open an unknown amount of time later, the redhead barely cracked an eye open, glaring as John stepped in. He didn't say anything, instead coming and sitting by her bed silently. Neither moved for the longest time, but Kaine grudgingly admitted that having him there was helping her relax. Even when they were in the middle of a fight, they managed to calm one another down. So long as they kept silent, of course.

“I brought supplies to patch your shoulder permanently,” the Spartan finally said, voice much quieter than many people would believe a person his size could manage. “I'm not as good as Halsey, but I promise not to lecture while I treat.”

“I'd make the deal just for that,” the ODST sighed, slowly getting up, finally allowing the pain from her shoulder to show through. “Please tell me you also grabbed Spartan-strength pain meds.” He offered a bottle. “Those aren't yours, are they?”

“No,” he chuckled, weak smile on his face. “I have my own bottle. Fred and Kelly had picked them up in CASTLE and left them with the supplies when we landed. There's enough for everyone.” Suspicions assuaged, the redhead took the bottle, popping a pill out and swallowing it dry. “Can you remove your armor so I can reach the wound?” Wordlessly, she obeyed. If she hadn't been so damn tired, she probably would have shivered when the large warrior rose up to sit beside her, fingers gentle as he removed the blood-stained bandage and probed the wound. “You said you got this on Reach? It hasn't healed at all.”

“It was a Needler round,” she mumbled, already feeling the pain killer kicking in. Fast and potent was nice but damn if it wasn't knocking her on her ass. “I thought it was just a graze but I haven't managed to get a good look at it. Maybe something's still in the wound?” He probed a little deeper, pulling back when he pressed against something that made her jerk away with a hiss. “I'll take that as a yes.”

“Felt like a sliver,” he said, triggering his helmet lights to illuminate the wound. “The round might have fractured, leaving a shard behind.” Tilting his head to improve the light, he was silent for a second before nodding. “I can see it; the piece is deep and looks like it's wedged in an artery, though a minor one. That would explain the continuous bleeding, despite the compression.”

“Can you get it out?” Kaine muttered, feeling things shift as she became lightheaded. Probably should have taken the pain pill after she got treated.

“Yes,” her husband replied, not bothering to tell her it would hurt like hell. She already knew that. “Can you hold still, or do I need to restrain you?”

“I'd probably punch you if you tried to tie me,” she admitted, giving a pained chuckle. “Let me try holding still. If that fails, we'll think of something else.”

“I can have Locklear come in and sit on your chest,” John offered, making her laugh, though she also shook her head in rejection of the idea. “Alright, grab my knee and lock your arm.” She obeyed without complaint. “I know the drugs are kicking in, but try not to fall asleep; I don't want a black eye because you drift off before I can try to remove the shard.”

“You have your helmet on,” she mumbled, though she knew he was right and tried to force herself back awake.

“And you'd manage to punch right through it,” John huffed dryly. “Do you want me to keep talking or should I keep quiet so you can focus?”

“Quiet,” Kaine sighed, reluctantly focusing on the pain she could still feel as she closed her eyes. She knew the burning would grow when he started digging, but until then she'd need every scrap of discomfort she had to stay awake. “Just...warn me before you do anything.”

“Will do.” The pair fell silent for a few seconds before, “Alright, I'm going in with tweezers. 3...2...1...” The first touch of metal inside the wound made the redhead want to throw herself away, but she locked her body down. Except the occasional pained groan or hiss, they stayed silent as John worked the tweezers in and tried to remove the shard without causing any more damage. “Bleeding's going to increase,” he warned just before he pulled the sliver of Needler free. Sure enough, the redhead could feel a flood of warm liquid run down her arm. Before she could become concerned, the Spartan had the biofoam can out and was filling the wound, politely ignoring her flinch considering her arm didn't move. “Alright, that should do it,” he sighed, grabbing the bandage and quickly wrapping her shoulder again. “Let me know if you have any more problems.”

“Don't hold your breath,” Kaine sighed, managing a weak smile for him. Even with the helmet, she knew he was giving her one of his deadpan looks. “Fine, if there are any more complications you'll be the second to know, right after myself. Now, can I sleep?” Instead of answering, John pulled off his helmet and lay back, pulling her with him. Huffing about how hard his armor was, the redhead still settled herself as comfortably as she could on top of her husband. The room fell quiet again as she allowed the pain meds to take over, but she still managed a muffled, “I love you, John.”

“I love you too, Klare.”

“ _Hate to be the bearer of bad news, you two, but it's time to wake up._ ”

“I swear, Vincent, I am _going_ to delete you one day,” Kaine muttered, rolling off John. Unfortunately, her husband was just as asleep as she was, so he was unable to catch her when she realized that she was rolling the wrong way and she fell off the bed with a loud yell. Hitting the ground hard, she indulged in a heartfelt expletive as stars danced before her eyes. When they cleared she could see John looking down at her, expression a mixture of worry and amusement. “Not. One. Word,” she hissed, trying to glare but more than aware that she was probably smiling. Raising his hands in silent surrender, the Spartan sat up fully, giving her time to get to her feet, rubbing the back of her head. “At least we know your patch job worked,” the redhead huffed, looking down at her shoulder. The bandage was still clean and the pain had all but vanished. “Of course the damn wound refused to behave until you took over.”

“I think it has more to do with finally having the time to actually treat the wound properly,” John chuckled, though he reached out and gently pulled her closer, scrutinizing the bandage himself. He must have liked what he saw, because he smiled slightly. “I agree; everything's looking good. And you seem rested now.” Looking up at her from the bed, his hazel eyes were hard to read for a few seconds before they cleared. “I was wrong. You _do_ know how to take care of yourself. I'm sorry I didn't listen before.”

“You're in charge of the Spartans and a male. If you ever did listen to me the first time, I'd probably die of shock,” Kaine huffed, still smiling. “But you always manage to work things out yourself and catch up with me, so I guess it's not too bad. Now come on, Vincent wouldn't have woken us without a damn good reason.” Nodding, John finally rose off the bed, towering over the redhead but knowing full well that she could kick his ass anytime she wanted.

The pair were silent as they moved through the halls, but this silence was comfortable. There was a moment of mirth when Chief offered to let his wife enter the lift first with an extravagant bow. Normally she would have punched him but she felt good enough to just chuckle and roll her eyes as she passed. Admittedly, there was some playful elbowing as the small container rose, which came to an abrupt stop when a nearly silent ding warned them that they'd reached their destination. By the time the doors slid open, they were completely professional and they stepped onto the bridge. Whitcomb and Haverson were on one end of the bridge and the Spartan made a beeline for them while Kaine spotted the newcomer and hurried over. “Spartan-104,” she greeted, smiling as he turned to face her. “Good to see you up and moving.”

“It's good to be back,” Fred replied, giving the smile signal twice. His cheeks must have been hurting to smile that big. “I hear we have you to thank for the rescue off the ship.”

“Had nothing else to do,” she shrugged, smirk firmly in place. No matter how many years went by, she knew he would understand her. Zach and Luna had been her closest siblings to be sure, but Fred had been hard on their heels. If there was one Spartan she loved as much John, it was Fred.

“Systems check,” Admiral Whitcomb called, cutting through their banter.

“Residual radiation fading,” Haverson reported from the ops console. “Navigation systems and scanners coming back online.”

“Reactors at sixty percent,” Fred chimed in, that strange mix of playfulness and professionalism in his voice. “Slight hysteresis leak in coil ten. Compensating.” As he typed the commands into his console, Kaine knew the Spartan was watching her. It was becoming common place amongst her family ever since she'd 'returned from the dead' but there was an edge to Fred's hidden gaze that worried her. When the unease grew enough, she looked around the bridge, spotting a pile of gear in the corner. No doubt Johnson and Locklear had moved everything they needed out of the Covenant ship, which meant her helmet would be somewhere with the rest of the supplies. Despite her dislike of the thing, she had a feeling she'd need it, so she reluctantly walked away from everywhere and started digging through the pile.

After a couple minutes of frustration and wondering just how the hell they'd managed to pick up this amount of supplies, the redhead finally spotted her helmet and tugged it on with a muffled sigh. Getting to her feet, she was just in time to hear Haverson say, “I didn't even know the Spartans were around in 2525.” Scowling, the ODST stomped back over, noting how John gave her another worried look.

“Yes, sir,” Fred answered easily, very comfortable with the fact. “We just didn't have MJOLNIR armor or the advanced weaponry we have today. We looked like any other NavSpecWar team.”

“I very much doubt that,” the ONI spook muttered under his breath, probably aware that every Spartan on the bridge had heard him clearly. Luckily for him, they all silently agreed to let the moment pass.

“You mean five people made a zero-G vacuum infiltration into this space station?” Whitcomb asked, eyebrows arched high enough to display how much he doubted the validity of the report. “And then exfiltrated with a prisoner who happened to be the guy in charge of the place?”

“Yes, sir,” Chief said with a small shrug. “That was the basic plan.”

“I suppose it went of without a hitch?”

There were several seconds of silence before John shook his head, clearly remembering what had happened. It made Kaine wish she'd gone ahead and hacked the Spartan database back then to figure out what had happened. Even Eric hadn't been able to get much on the mission. “No, sir. There were enemy casualties. And we had to blow their cargo bay to escape.”

“So they're not going to happy to see a UNSC ship knocking on their front door?”

“I wouldn't expect so, sir.”

“Faint emissions on the D-band detected,” Cortana broke in, arms crossed over her chest on the small projector. She looked like she was doing a little better; maybe Vincent had been able to help after all. “Come about to new heading three-three-zero.”

“Aye,” Haverson called, tapping commands into his station. “Three-three-zero.”

“It's gone now,” the female AI continued, frowning, “but I definitely heard _something_.”

“Keep on this course,” Whitcomb ordered. “We'll run it down.”

“There's one thing I don't understand,” Haverson muttered, gaze sweeping over the monitors as he scrutinized the asteroid field. “Why are these people even here?”

“Pirate and insurgents,” the Admiral answered shortly, scowl firmly in place. “They hijack UNSC ships, sell arms, and trade black market commodities. You're probably too young to remember, Lieutenant, but before the Covenant War not everyone wanted to be part of an Earth-ruled government.”

“I'm fully aware of the rebellion,” the spook retorted, unaware of the dark looks he was receiving from the Spartans. 'Aware' their asses; they'd actually lived it and it deserved more recognition than that. “But why continue to stay separate from the UNSC forces when the Covenant War started? Surely their chances of survival would be better with us?”

“Some people didn't want to fight, son,” Whitcomb snorted, equal parts angry and amused. “Some just wanted to hide...in this case, literally under a rock. Maybe they think the Covenant won't bother with 'em. Well,” he smiled, “we're about to change all that for them.”

The lift opened suddenly, startling every to turn and look. Dr. Halsey stepped on to the bridge, looking utterly exhausted in a way usually reserved for soldiers. She removed her glasses and rubbed at her eyes before looking up, locking right on the Master Chief. Every Spartan held their breath until she said, “She's fine. Linda will make it. The flash-cloned organs took.”

Releasing a sigh of relief, John glanced at Fred and nodded, the boys sharing a private moment of joy. Kaine remained on the outside, knowing she couldn't join in without compromising her security. That didn't mean she wasn't over the moon. “Thank you, Doctor Halsey,” Chief said, though the civilian waved off his gratitude, making the redhead frown. It almost looked like she regretted saving the female Spartan.

“Damn good news,” the Admiral agreed, beaming. “We could use another hand on deck.”

“Hardly,” Halsey snapped before Kaine could voice any protest. “She'll need at least a week to recover – even with the biofoam and steroid accelerants I have her on. Then she'll barely be able to get on her feet. She won't be combat ready.” And she was going to bitch about the entire time, knowing Linda.

“This region is the source of the D-band signal,” Cortana interrupted smoothly, catching everyone's attention. Three rocks appeared on the screens, each one massive. “There are three possible candidates based on the size parameters you gave me, Chief.”

“Which one is it?” Whitcomb asked, face serious once more.

“Only one is rotating fast enough to generate a three-quarter-gravity internal environment.”

“That's it,” John said, nodding to the rock in the center. He must have recognized it, as his AI hadn't said which asteroid was moving at the correct speed. Feeling the electricity starting to buzz under her skin, Kaine frowned and moved so she could gently nudge her husband, warning him. This was a trap. All their years of silence paid off as the Chief glanced at her quickly through his helmet and nodded. “Admiral?”

“I know, Chief,” Admiral Whitcomb sighed. “They've baited the hook and we're taking it...at least that's what it's supposed to look like. Cortana, power up every turret on out Covenant flagship.”

“Let me remind you, sir,” the AI chimed, “that of the three working turrets, two are offline. I have no way to aim the plasma. The magnetic-”

“I know, Cortana. But _they_ don't know that.” Realizing what the Admiral planned to do, Kaine shook her head fondly, smiling behind the helmet. Well, if anyone was going to bluff, it would be Whitcomb. However, she also knew that she was no longer needed on the bridge, so the redhead left quietly. With any luck, Halsey would remain with the others for a while, allowing the ODST to check on Kelly, Will, and Grace. But first things first. Namely, Locklear.

“ _Locklear is three decks down,_ ” Vincent said before she could ask. “ _He's found the_ Gettysburg's _training room and has been working out whenever Admiral Whitcomb doesn't have work for him. Johnson is there as well, though he is asleep._ ”

“Thank you,” Kaine smiled, giving him a mental hug and laughing at the feeling of disgust he sent back. Now that she was fully rested, their conversations were going much smoother. “Please keep Cortana up-to-date with where we are in case they have need of us.” Feeling his agreement, she made her way to the lift. Riding it down, she took a few seconds to plan out what she was going to say; there was no doubt that most of her soldier's sadness had turned to anger and she was probably going to take the brunt of it. So long as none of her siblings decided to take offense on her behalf.

Trotting out when the lift doors opened, the redhead made her way to the training area. Even from a distance she could hear the sounds of someone in the middle of a fight. Looked like Locklear had gotten a head start on working out his frustrations.

Stepping into the large bay, Kaine looked around. She spotted Johnson sprawled out on the mats, but her attention was focused on her Corporal that was currently beating the hell out of a punching bag. “Want an opponent that hits back?” she asked, making her way over carefully. Locklear glanced at her for a second, pausing in his attack. When he stayed quiet, she shrugged. “I'm not stupid enough to believe that you aren't upset with me, Locklear. That, plus your anger and sadness, means you have a lot of aggression to work off. Hitting an actual body drains those negative feelings faster.”

“You know a lot about dealing with anger, sir,” the ODST said, voice tight.

“I was trained as a Spartan,” she replied bluntly. “We had years of training in studying emotions: how to control them, how to channel them, and, unfortunately, how to ignore them. I'm bad at the 'dealing' part and tend to go straight to the ignoring stage, but I recognize it's unhealthy. Now, do you want a partner or not?” He said nothing, settling for staring, until he gave a jerky nod and moved away from the bag. Toeing off her boots and removing her helmet, the redhead got onto the mat with him and settled into a defensive stance. “You're the angry one, Locklear. You hit.” Without any hesitation, he did.

Despite the anger fueling each hit, Kaine stood her ground and blocked each strike. She knew she would have bruises, but it was nothing she couldn't shake off, so she held her tongue. Instead she allowed her mind to sink into the meditative state that every Spartan used during standard sparring. At least she did until the wall screen chimed, lighting up with Cortana's face. “Commander Faldon?” Twisting, the redhead caught Locklear's kick without looking. “Admiral Whitcomb, Lieutenant Haverson, Master Chief, Sierra-104, and Doctor Halsey are going to the asteroid to meet with Governor Jiles. The Admiral requests that you remain aboard to keep an eye on the ships and remaining crew. If anything happens, you are to contact him immediately.”

“Was that an order?” the ODST asked, a dangerous edge in her voice. She was tired of playing the shrinking officer.

“No, a request,” the AI corrected, giving a tiny smile. “If you'll excuse me, I need to go back to the Chief. You know how to contact me.” Nodding, Kaine waved her away, turning back to Locklear and realizing that she still held his foot. Releasing it, she watched him stumble back, a strange look on his face. For a moment they just stared at each other, and then the Corporal sighed and backed off.

“You really are the same,” he huffed, a wry smile on his face. “Last time you used that voice I though Major Silva was going to shit himself.”

“In my defense, Silva was being an ass,” the redhead smirked, folding herself to sit on the mat. Gesturing for him to join her, she waited for Locklear to settle. “I know you're still unhappy about my past, but have you worked out enough of your anger to talk through the rest?”

“Nothing left to talk about,” he shrugged. “You were a Spartan, but now you're an ODST. I'm sure you had a reason for keeping the secret from us.”

“To be fair, I kept the secret from everyone,” she informed him dryly. “I have an ONI execution order hanging over my head, so I didn't tell anyone that I survived the augmentations. You should have seen the Spartans when they realized I was alive and well. Got a split lip both times I made a reveal.” Ignoring his chuckle, she smiled slightly at the memory. Come to think of it, she still had a faint scar from Luna's punch. “So now that we have that covered, how are you doing?”

“I'll be okay, Commander,” Locklear answered, a clearly fake smile on his face. “It's not like I wasn't aware that the whole fling might not end badly. Though I would have enjoyed having a chance to give it a try.”

“I know,” Kaine said softly, gaze lowered. “Polaski was an amazing soldier; her loss hit everyone hard. All we can do now is try to fight all the harder for her. And I know those words don't help much right now, but until we reach the point where words do help, I'll be here to work you through anything you need.” He nodded gratefully, to chocked to say anything. “Alright, let's get back to sparring. You still have grief to work off and my brothers are being idiots, risking their lives again. It's either show you some moves or beat them black and blue with a pillow.”

“You can't bruise someone with a pillow,” the Corporal argued, startled when she burst out laughing. “Wait, can you?” The redhead just grinned, getting back to her feet and settling herself in a defensive stance again. “Sir?”

“I promise not to bruise you,” she chuckled. “Now get up, that's an order.” He scrambled to his feet. “Alright, now grab my arm and try to stay relaxed or this is going to hurt. Not bruise, but hurt.” Gulping, Locklear obeyed, only slightly surprised when he was suddenly flying through the air, landing hard on the mats. Dazed, he looked back, noting that he was upside down as his Commander was standing on the ceiling. “Very good, now get back here and I'll teach you how to do that throw.” He scrambled to obey.

The pair fell into an easy time of teaching and throwing before Kaine suddenly jerked upright, eyes wide. “Fuck!” she yelled a second later, ignoring the Sergeant that leapt to his feet with a cry. “Covenant!” the redhead called, scrambling for her boots and pulling them on. “Both of you, get ready for combat.” Not giving them time to reply, she grabbed her helmet and bolted down the hall, heading toward the lift. Vincent had already alerted Cortana to the ships he'd picked up and she'd replied that they were on their way back, but there was still a pit of dread in her chest. This battle was going to be messy.

Jumping into the lift she punched the button for the bridge and waited anxiously as it rose, pulling the helmet on and pulling up every combat program she had, including a link to John's HUD that let her keep track of him. A second later the link was accepted and she saw the connection symbol pop into existence. The doors barely opened at her destination before she was bursting back out, glaring at the screens that were already displaying the enemy ships. Growling under her breath, she waited tensely for the others to show up, nearly self-combusting before the lift doors slid apart again and the asteroid group bounded off. Cortana's image flickered into existence on the pad, frowning severely. “Covenant cruiser is only two hundred thousand kilometers away,” she reported. “Closing fast on an intercept course.”

“Fred, take the Engineering station,” Whitcomb barked, glancing at Kaine to make sure she didn't disagree; she backed off with a slightly bowed head. In this battle, she would bow to his command. “Haverson on NAV, and Chief, you're on Weapons Station One; get it up and running and see if there are any systems we overlooked. Commander, you know where you're needed most; feel free to jump in anywhere you see need. Lieutenant, move us away from the enemy on course one-eight-zero by two-seven-zero.”

“One-eight-zero by two-seven-zero, aye,” Haverson called, strapping himself into his station and quickly inputting commands. “Coming about, Admiral.” The redhead could feel the floor vibrate as the ships moved, giving her a very bad feeling. It was a miracle the conjoined ships had survived as long as they had, but that left her wondering when everything would fall apart around them.

“ _We have a problem with the Spartans,_ ” Vincent chimed in her mind, finally sounding back at fully capacity. “ _I'm not sure what, just that there is a disturbance._ ”

'I'm not doing any good here,' Kaine replied, sending Chief a quick message before racing off the bridge, tempted to forego the lift and just jump down the shaft. Good sense kept her from following that urge, but she still ground her teeth in annoyance at how slow it was going. 'Vincent, do you know _anything_ about the disturbance?'

“ _If I had to guess, I'd say one of the Spartans is trying to return to active duty and Sergeant Johnson is attempting to stop them. Not having much luck, I'd like to add._ ” Muttering mutinously about idiotic siblings and Spartans that thought they were immortal, the redhead burst from the lift as it came to a stop at last. Racing down the hall, she spun around the corner in time to see Will shove past Johnson, snarl on his face.

“Stand down!” the ODST roared, making everyone jump and spin. Will's eyes went wide at the sight of her and he actually shrunk back a little; he knew that tone of voice better than the others. Despite not talking to the Spartans for six years, they all remembered that tone. It usually went hand-in-hand with someone getting cracked over the head with something very hard. “What the hell is going on here?!” the redhead snapped, stomping towards them. If her emotions were visible, she'd be surrounded by miniature lightning bolts. “Sergeant, report!”

“Spartan-043 wished to return to duty, Commander,” Johnson replied, backing up when he saw how nervous the Spartan in question was. “We had a disagreement on if he was fit to do so.” Turning on her brother, Kaine glared through her helmet, watching him gulp nervously. She wanted to lay into him, but that would reveal much more than she could afford to.

“Spartan, we are in the middle of a battle every law of reality says that we can't win. You throwing a temper tantrum is _not_ helping at all. There is absolutely nothing you can do to help right now; there is nothing _I_ can do that isn't being covered. So get your ass back into bed before you become the distraction that ends up killing us all.”

“Yes...Commander,” Will said slowly, eyes still wide and drooping slightly. He backed up a little further before pausing, a strange look appearing on his face. “If you aren't needed on the bridge, we could use your help here, sir.” Doubtful, but he was giving her the excuse she needed to stay with her siblings. Since she hadn't had a chance to come check on them before the Covenant ship had appeared, she nodded once. Looking at Johnson, she waited for him to argue, but the marine just grinned and gave his own nod before running away to wherever he and Locklear went while everyone else was busy. Hopefully, they wouldn't blow anything up.

“You're all idiots,” Kaine huffed, stepping into the medical bay and removing her helmet so she could glare at her siblings. “I thought rule #3 of combat was to rest if you're injured.”

“Yeah, but rule #4 is to get back to the battle as soon as possible,” Grace joked, smiling weakly from her bed. “And you're one to talk, Klare. You always skipped over rule #3 unless we held you down.” Not able to argue that, the redhead shrugged, giving in to the smile that was tugging at her. “How bad is it out there?”

“Bad, but Chief's on the bridge,” the ODST said, pulling herself up to sit on a bunk. She knew everyone was aware that she was observing them, but they made no sounds of complaint. All things considered, they looked pretty good. Kelly was awake again, sitting up without support, while Grace carefully stretched her muscles and Will made his way back to a bed. His gait was a little stiff, but not anything horribly apparent. Hell, even Fred was limping more than Will, though it was possible his limp came from an older injury. “Everyone knows that John has luck to spare, so we might just pull out of this one.” The ship shuddered, making everyone tense for a second before relaxing. Never, ever, let it be said that Spartans enjoyed being on ships.

“How's your Spidey-sense?” Kelly teased, a weak smile on her face. She outright laughed when Kaine rolled her eyes at the nickname. Of all the ways her interest in antique Earth entertainment could come back to bite her in the ass, the Spartans picked that subject.

“Buzzing, but subdued,” she still answered. “I'd say our chances are good.” The ship shuddered again, setting off a round of flinches. “Considering we don't destroy ourselves first.” Knowing that they were in a fight for their lives, the group fell silent. Still, it wasn't as nerve wracking as some of the waits they'd been subjected to. At least this time, they were together.

And then, “ _Spartans, this is Admiral Whitcomb,_ ” the intercom squawked. “ _The Covenant ship has been neutralized, but you can bet more are coming. Please report to the_ Gettysburg's _machine shop to make any repairs to weapons or suits that you need, as well catch at least six hours of sack time. The Master Chief and Spartan-104 are on their way down now. I'll send Commander Faldon to you to help out, as requested by Chief.. Acknowledge._ ”

“Acknowledged, Admiral,” Kaine cut in, ignoring Will's snickers. “I'm already with the Spartans; I'll accompany them to the machine shop.” Cutting the connection, she mocked glared at her overly amused siblings, fighting to keep the grin off her face. “Alright, you lot, let's go. Don't make me march you down there.”

“Would dream of it, Commander,” Will chuckled, getting back to his face with a grimace. Grace also rose with a groan, but Kelly had a look of worry on her face as she swung around. Without a word, the redhead walked over and offered her hand. There was a moment when the larger Spartan clearly struggled with her pride, but in the end she took the offer and held on as Kaine hauled her up. Once on her feet, Kelly was much more stable and was able to limp after her brother and sister, choosing to not mention how her smallest sister kept careful pace with her.

By the time the small group reached the machine shop, John and Fred were waiting for them. They all entered the large room without a word, Chief and Kaine moving instantly to set up lights and gather tools. In minutes they had the place lit, bouncing high-intensity spotlights off the walls to give softer and cooler illumination to the area. As they'd worked, their siblings had set up a work area, pulling crates together and gathering the tools they knew they'd need the most. “How are we going to do this?” Fred asked as John and Faldon rejoined them.

“Boys should sleep first,” Kaine answered instantly, though she still glanced at her husband to see if he would argue. “Chief and Fred have been the most active, and Kelly, Grace, and I know how to repair weapons the fastest. We'll switch off after a few hours.” For a long moment she and John engaged in a stubborn staring contest, before he sighed and nodded. Without a word, the boys went to the side and laid down, willing themselves to sleep quickly. Just as quickly, the girls quietly gathered their weapons and started making repairs, as well as patching small systems in their MJOLNIR armor.

Losing themselves in the work, time flew by until Vincent silently informed Kaine it was time to switch. Signaling to her sisters, the redhead watched as they moved to the sleeping Spartans, waking them quietly before settling down to sleep themselves. With hidden yawns and stretches, the trio joined the ODST and started their own work.

Near the end of the second sleep round, the doors slid open again, startling the awake Spartans. When Linda limped in, barely able to support herself, Kaine didn't know whether to be amused or angry, but she certainly wasn’t surprised. “Guess I should thank you for waiting as long as you did,” she grumbled, on her feet and by her sister's side before anyone could remember to move. Not giving the younger Spartan time to argue, she grabbed her hand and carefully supported her over to the work area they'd set up. The moment the injured Spartan was down, Fred and Will were helping her strip off the damaged sections of her armor. Though it hurt them all to see the new scars all over her body, the look in her eyes prevented them from saying anything.

Once all the damaged pieces were off, Will and Fred started repairs while Linda pulled over a sniper rifle and started breaking it down, eyes sharp. She didn't complain when Kaine settled next to her, and simply shifted when the smaller redhead turned to lean back on her bigger sister. No one mentioned their actions; every Spartan had known there was a unique bond between the two redheaded females. Despite both being loners, they always managed to find a comfort when near each other. That feeling was probably something they both needed after Linda's short foray through death.

Without looking up from the rifle she was working, Linda joked, “Now I know what you have to do to get a couple of days' R-and-R in this outfit.”

“I heard that you spend the whole time sleeping, too,” Fred chided back, smiling over at her.

“That's why she likes to snipe,” Will chuckled. “I caught her snoring last time she posted in that tower on Europa.” John didn't join in, likely feeling that he needed to keep his distance as the leader of the Spartans. Kaine didn't really agree, but she understood where he was coming from. Eric had always maintained a certain distance from the ODSTs, though he had allowed her to get as close and emotionally invested as she wanted. It was a practice she wasn't entirely sure she could continue...if she managed to get back to her Corps at all.

With a muffled groan, Kelly rolled over and woke up. Nudging Grace, she sat up and shook her head. “0400,” she grumbled. “That was six hours.”

“Felt like a fifteen-minute nap,” Grace muttered mutinously, though she also got up. “I just closed my eyes. You're kidding, right?” The pair looked over to the small awake group, noticing Linda and giving her the smile sign. In return, she gave them a rare real one.

A click of metal had every Spartan on alert, drawing weapons and spinning towards the door as it opened. Sergeant Johnson and Locklear stood in the new entrance, correctly frozen in place. “No one told me this was target practice,” the ODST muttered, glancing over at his commander and noticing how she was relaxed. Hopefully that meant he wasn't in danger. “Else I woulda painted a bull's-eye on my chest.”

“Master Chief, reporting as you requested,” Johnson said, ignoring the man beside him.

Nodding, John lowered his weapon, signaling the rest of the Spartans to do the same. “Come in, marines. I wanted you both down here to help us discuss our tactical options.” Deciding not to mention that a conversation like that should likely include Admiral Whitcomb and Haverson, Kaine waved her soldier over beside her, unsurprised when Johnson followed gamely. Still, she got a little bit of sadistic glee when she pulled the younger man to the ground and he yelped.

Before the Chief could continue, the COM turned on an Halsey's voice came through. “ _Master Chief?_ ”

“Yes, Doctor?”

“ _I need Kelly to report to Medical Four. She requires one last injection of dermacortic steroids. And I could use her assistance in another matter._ ”

Shrugging, John nodded to Kelly, who stood and stretched slowly. “I'll be right back,” she told the group, flexing her hands despite the burns. “Don't plan the overthrowing of the Covenant Empire without me.” Waving a slight goodbye, as well as subtly signing for Kaine to take care of everyone because she was the only sane one (Locklear and Johnson were very confused about the muffled groan every Spartan gave), she left the room.

“She's on her way, Doctor,” John reported, and the COM snapped off. Turning to the others, he continued, “Let's go over what we know and see if we've missed anything – any way to exploit the enemy's plan.” Setting down a data pad, he revealed it had a star map on it's surface. “The Covenant are on their way to Earth. They are gathering at a battle station and then jumping en masse to the Sol system.”

“What happens then?” Fred asked, though everyone in the room had an idea. Sad to say, not a single idea was good.

“Assuming _we_ get to Earth first,” Linda mused, “our Fleet will be waiting for them and-” she pulled back the bolt of her rifle with a sharp _clack_ “-they'll give them a warm reception.”

“But what chance will our forces have?” Will inquired, coolly logical. Kaine noted that Johnson and Locklear seemed shocked at how nonchalant the Spartans were being about utter annihilation, but they kept quiet. She didn't have the heart to explain that they _had_ to be this way; no long term plan based on emotions worked very well. “You saw Cortana's report. There will be hundreds of Covenant warships. I don't think our Fleet or even Earth's orbital MAC platforms can repel a force that powerful.”

“No,” Chief agreed. “They can't win. They'll try. But the Covenant will eventually take down one of the orbital MACs, slip through, and pick off the ground-based generators. Just like Reach.” Fred visibly flinched at that, making Kaine's heart ache.

“So we get to watch another fight in space?” Locklear hissed, his bright with rage as he twisted the bandana on his arm; the one Polaski had given back to him. His hands were shaking with rage, but he was holding together enough that his commander didn't bother bringing it up. “There has to be a way to get to those bastards first – on the ground where we can win. Hell, I'd even take my chances in hand-to-hand combat. Anything but floating in zero-G and watching Earth get burned.” It was a sentiment echoed by them all.

“What about our original mission?” Linda asked. “Find the Covenant homeworld?”

“Our priority has to be to warn Earth,” John answered. “Admiral Whitcomb would insist...and he has the authority to scrub our mission.”

“And I have the authority to keep it going,” Kaine reminded, though she slightly agreed with the Admiral. The only chance Earth would have depended on giving them warning.

“Too bad there's no ground between here and Earth where we can take the fight to them,” Locklear sighed, unclenching his fists and dropping his gaze to the deck. “Sometimes,” he whispered, “I really hate this war.” Silently, the officer reached out and squeezed his shoulder, offering the little support she could.

Johnson echoed her actions, a strange look of pain in his eyes. “Stand tall, Marine,” he whispered. “Try to-” His gaze fell to the star map and he froze. “Hang on a second. What was it you said about no ground to fight on between here and there?” He grinned, picking up the pad. “What's this?” Tapping a dot, he squinted as he tried to read the tiny print. “This...'Uneven Elephant'?”

“ _Unyielding Hierophant,_ ” Chief corrected, ignoring his wife's snickers at the alternate name. “According to Cortana, it's a command-and-control center, a mobile space platform where the Covenant fleet will rendezvous before their final jump to Earth.”

“Well, there's your ground,” Johnson shrugged, evil grin on his face. “On this 'elephant' thing.”

“It fits with the timetable,” Will agreed, getting up to look at the star map himself. “This station _is_ on the way to Earth.”

“We can drop out of Slipspace in a smaller craft,” Fred cut in, hopeful for the first time. “Go in and-”

“And do what you Spartans do best,” Locklear finished, a spark of life back in his eyes. “Infiltrate, kill, and blow shit up.” Glancing at his commander, he nodded firmly, holding an entire conversation silently with her that no one else could follow. “If there's room in this operation for an ODST, pencil me in.”

“Same here,” Kaine agreed, sharp smile appearing. “Covenant's wracked up a substantial bill with me for everyone they've taken out of my life. It's time I collected.” Sergeant Johnson didn't say anything, but his stance communicated everything they needed to know.

Apparently, that was enough for John. “Fred, Will: Get Linda's suit back together ASAP. Locklear, you're on weapons detail again. Scrounge every pistol, rifle, ammo bag, and scrap of explosives on this vessel and haul it to _Ascendant Justice's_ launch bay. Grace, Linda, and Sergeant Johnson: Get that spare Covenant dropship ready for its last flight. Reinforce the hull for a Slipspace-to-normal-space transition. And Faldon and I will take this plan to Admiral Whitcomb – make him see that it's the only way. We're going to take this fight to the Covenant. We're going to launch a first strike.”

Everyone scrambled to obey, filled with hope for the first time in days. Without a word, Kaine fell in behind John as he trotted out of the bay, following him easily. Reaching the lift, they entered and waited, albeit impatiently, before stepping back onto the bridge. Haverson and Whitcomb were staring at the displays of the Weapons Station One and Engineering. “Sirs,” Chief called, getting waved over by the Admiral even though the older man didn't look up. Rolling her eyes, Kaine decided to make her displeasure known by skipping across the empty space, ignoring her husband's look of disbelief.

“Cortana,” Whitcomb said, crossing his arms over his chest, “give me an update on our power.”

The holopad beside him flickered on, showing that she was mimicking his pose perfectly. “Status is nearly identical to my last report five minutes ago, Admiral. Tests on _Ascendant Justice's_ reactor and the _Gettysburg's_ engines are in synch, and will be completed in forty minutes.”

“Hurry,” the Admiral snapped, glaring at the screens. “I don't want to get stuck without power when unfriendlies show up. I want to get under way to Earth. Weapons status?”

“Aye, sir,” Cortana said calmly. “Plasma turret one is obliterated; no possibility of repair. Plasma turrets two, three, and four are repaired, and although I'm waiting for power to test them, I have run three hundred twelve virtual test-firings without incident. Turrets five, six, and seven, however, require parts Governor Jiles does not have in his inventory. Two Archer missile pods on the _Gettysburg_ have been refilled. That gives us sixteen missiles hot and ready to go, sir.”

“I'd like to know where Jiles got those missiles,” Haverson muttered. “They're UNSC military contraband.”

“He is a _pirate_ , Lieutenant,” Cortana drawled.

“Good work,” Whitcomb told the AI, ignoring the muttered argument between the ONI spook and computer program. “Keep me posted.” Turning to the Spartan, he continued, “You had something, Master Chief?”

Before John could say anything, Haverson moved, pointing at a screen. “Admiral.” There was a small ship moving away from the _Gettysburg's_ launch bay. “I thought Jiles was staying on board to oversee repairs.”

“So did I,” Whitcomb said darkly. “Cortana, did you catch Jiles leaving on surveillance?”

“No, sir, but you might be interested in this.” A video appeared on the screen, showing Halsey and a Spartan on a gurney loading on to the ship that had been on the screen previously while Locklear helped. “Locklear left them at the ship, sir. Doctor Halsey and Spartan-087 departed.”

Kelly.

“Cortana, hail that ship. _Now!_ ”

“Hailing.”

“Admiral?” a man said, his face appearing on a forward screen, nervous smile on his face. “I just saw my ship leave the launch bay. Perhaps you can explain why you commandeered my personal property when I have showed nothing but good faith in this-”

“Hold on to your shirttail, Governor,” the Admiral snapped. “I'm in the middle of finding out who took your ship and what precisely is going on. Cortana, any response to our hail?”

“An automated code, sir,” she replied, looking astonished. “UNSC Code Three-Nine-Two.”

“Three-Nine-Two?”

“Admiral,” John said, his voice rough with some sort of emotion. “That is an official 'non response' code, sir. Special Warfare teams use it to ignore hails...due to a higher priority mission.”

“God _damn_ it!” Whitcomb yelled, grinding his teeth. “You mean the good doctor just told me to go to hell?”

“Not in so many words, but yes,” Kaine growled, feeling her own anger peaking. How dare Halsey steal Kelly? How dare she lie to all of them? And how _dare_ her own soldier help?! The second she got her hands on him, she would wring his neck.

On screen, the small ship, a Chiroptera class, suddenly jumped forward, light spearing around it before it vanished. “A Slipspace transition,” Cortana announced.

Slowly, Whitcomb turned and pinned Haverson with a glare that could kill. “I thought you told me that that ship was locked down. That vital components were removed when it was decommissioned. That there was no way it could make a Slipspace jump?”

“Yes, sir, I did.”

“And would you care to explain why that ship just disappeared, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Admiral. I was wrong.” At least the man admitted it, though he was looking down at the time. “Doctor Halsey apparently found a way to circumvent the ONI lockout on the ship's systems.”

“This is most unfortunate, Admiral,” Jiles chimed in. “I expect to be compensated-”

“You bet it's unfortunate,” the Whitcomb snapped. “If I'd known there was a chance we could have used that ship to jump to Earth...I would have done it hours ago. Cortana, what was her trajectory?”

“Not Earth,” the AI replied easily. “Doctor Halsey's course points to no known system in my database.”

Falling silent, the Admiral glared at everything for several seconds, fuming, before having to admit defeat. “I want Corporal Locklear on the bridge ten minutes ago. Lieutenant Haverson, have Cortana locate him. Then I want you _personally_ to escort that ODST up here.”

“Absolutely not,” Kaine cut in, making everyone jump. “He's my soldier and my responsibility. I'll get him. You'll have him after I've chewed one of his ears off.” Stalking towards the lift, she vaguely heard when Cortana told her that her wayward ODST was on B-Deck, medical storage, and was not answering her COM. That was all she needed.

Growling promises of pain and torture, the redhead rode down on the lift and moved quickly through the hall. She would have outright run, but if she reached the Corporal before she calmed down at least a little she'd probably break his jaw and that would get them nowhere. As the door to medical storage finally came into view she stopped for a few seconds, taking deep breaths. Deafening the man probably would be a bad idea too.

The next thing she was aware of was a large blast and dropping to the ground. Alarms started blaring instantly, bring the redhead back to her feet. The storage room's door was gone, blown off, and there was soot and small fires everywhere. Ignoring the pounding in her head and the warning from her AI, the redhead raced in and looked around. There was damaged supplies everywhere, including a badly malformed dolly, but what caught her attention was the body. Feet suddenly feeling like they weighed several tons, Kaine limped over to all that was left of Locklear, falling to her knees beside him and gently touching his charred neck, needing to confirm what she knew. He was gone.

The ODST stayed where she was, not paying attention to the passing of time. She knew she was falling into shutdown, but she couldn't stop it. Over the years, she'd come to realize that shutdown was a technique she couldn't control anymore. It could be put off, on occasion, but she'd been shoving it off since her father had died, but now it was overtaking her. However, a hand grabbing her shoulder brought her out enough to look back and see Fred. He was looking down at her with sad eyes, clearly visible since his helmet was off. “I could have saved him,” she croaked, feeling tears burning in the back of her eyes. “If I'd been just a little faster, I could have saved him.”

“You don't know that,” the Spartan argued gently, sitting down and pulling her into his arms, worrying when she went willingly. Ever since learning his sister was alive, he'd wondered many things about her life, but one of his chief concerns had been about the shutdown technique. The Spartans had learned just how dangerous that technique was and had trained themselves out of it, but Klare had been alone. From her reaction and the swiftness of her fall, she had become dependent on it. “If you'd been any faster, you might be dead too.”

“Why would he do that?” the redhead asked numbly, staring at nothing as she curled up in his lap. “Locklear isn't the type...wasn't the type to kill himself, especially before a battle. So why?”

“ _I might have figured it out,_ ” Vincent suddenly said, popping into view on a nearby screen. He glanced at Fred once, imparting something that Kaine didn't catch, before vanishing, being replaced by a video. It showed Halsey and an unconscious Kelly. Locklear walked into the room a second later, frowning.

“ _Hey, Doc. Cortana said you needed me?” He rubbed a hand over his bald head. “I'm kind of busy right now, so if this can wait-”_

“ _Whatever you're doing, this is more important,” Halsey cut in, nodding towards Kelly. “I need your help getting Spartan-087 to the launch bay.”_

“ _Is she okay?” the ODST asked, actually worried as he approached._

“ _She's fine, but I have to transfer her to the asteroid base. They have a piece of equipment necessary to complete her treatment.”_

“ _But I just saw her-” Locklear said, clearly skeptical._

“ _She's fine,” the doctor assured, waving off his concerns. “Just sedated. This procedure is...unpleasant, even for a Spartan.” After a second, the Corporal nodded, and moved to wheel the gurney out of the room. The video jumped to the camera in the hall, revealing the trio exit the room, move down the hall, and enter the lift. However, when the video shifted to there, they saw Halsey turn to Locklear. “Your hand, please.” He looked confused, but obeyed. When she placed the crystal in his hand, he flinched. “This is what the Covenant so desperately want. They tore up Reach to get it. They followed us into Slipspace. And Polaski died protecting this thing.” That drew out another flinch.”_

“ _And what the hell am I supposed to do with it?”_

“ _Keep it safe,” she answered. “Guard it with your life, because if the Covenant ever get it, they'll be able to jump through Slipspace a hundred times faster than they can now. Do you understand?”_

“ _Not really, Doc,” the ODST admitted, closing his fist around the stone. “But I can take care of it. But why me? Why not ask one of your Spartans?”_

“ _'My' Spartan could be ordered to hand it over to Lieutenant Haverson. And he'd risk getting it back to ONI Section Three – even if he had to gamble that the Covenant might get it.”_

“ _Well, as much as I don't like El-tee White-bread,” Locklear snorted, “I'd hand it over if ordered too. What's the big deal, anyway? We're almost home.”_

“ _Almost,” Halsey agreed. “But the moment you jump, this crystal emits radiation like a signal flare. The Covenant will find this ship...and maybe this time they'll win the battle in Slipspace.” The ODST grimaced. “So I know you'll do whatever it takes to prevent this object from falling into enemy hands.”_

“ _I read you, Doc. Loud and clear. I know what I have to do...count on it.”_

“ _Good.”_

The video ended abruptly, leaving a horrible silence in its wake. Fred could only stare, horrified. Halsey, the woman that was like his own mother, had not only drugged and kidnapped Kelly, but she'd also manipulated Locklear into a position where he thought suicide was the best answer. In doing so, she'd hurt Klare deeply. That wasn't something he could forgive easily.

“That bitch,” Kaine said, voice deadly quiet. It was the only warning Fred received and he barely let her go in time before she launched to her feet with a roar. Faster than the Spartan could track, she'd punched the wall, leaving a massive dent as she screamed in rage. That was when Fred knew that she, at least, would never forgive Halsey. And he couldn't blame her.

“ _Spartan-104, Commander Faldon, please report to the Officers' Club,_ ” Cortana chimed, voice only. “ _Admiral Whitcomb is having a meeting with all remaining crew members there to discuss options and plans._ ” Breathing hard, the redhead rolled her shoulders a few times, pulling her emotions back under tenuous control. Carefully, Fred got to his feet and waited, deciding that he would not leave her side. She'd been on her own too long as it was. So when she gathered the crystal fragments she could find and stalked out, looking like a thunder cloud with red lightning, he followed silently.

Stepping into the O-Club, she was just in time to hear Whitcomb say that they'd had one small blessing. Gritting her teeth, she held up the bag she'd put the shards in. “And here's evidence that Doctor Halsey's crystal was indeed destroyed,” she growled, tossing the bag towards the Admiral. “I found Locklear exactly where Cortana said he would be: B-Deck, the medical storage room. Overloaded electronics at the site are consistent with a high-energy radiation burst...as are the burns on the Corporal's body.” Grimacing, she was aware that the Spartans were watching her worriedly, but she ignored them. Her rage would keep her moving for a while at least, and she wouldn't give up until she'd found Halsey and got revenge for her soldier. “If it means anything to anyone but me, his death was quick. And these,” she tapped the bag before picking up an abandoned glass to play with, “are crystalline fragments that I found at the site. At first glance they appear to be a match to the shard found on Reach, but what I found isn't sufficient mass to account for the entire crystal. So unless it was atomized and left no trace, a fact inconsistent with the presence of these larger pieces, then the rest of that crystal has to be somewhere else.”

Tapping her foot, Cortana thought for a moment before shaking her head. “If the radiation burst detected before our jump correlates with the destruction of Doctor Halsey's crystal, then there is an alternative explanation. The timing between that explosion and the radiation flare was only forty-seven milliseconds. Since the crystal had unusual space-and time-bending properties, the missing fragments may have been 'squeezed' out of the ship and into Slipspace.”

“You mean,” Haverson asked, incredulously, “pieces of the greatest scientific discovery in human history are lost in Slipspace?”

“Yes. I'm sorry, Lieutenant.” Kaine wasn't. If she _had_ to lose a soldier, at least he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do.

“At least the Covenant can't get to it anymore,” Whitcomb sighed. “Or if they do, they're only going to find a bunch of busted fragments.”

“I just wish I knew why Locklear did it,” Haverson mused.

“The boy was a little on edge,” Johnson said, shaking his head in equal confusion. “After all he'd been through, you'd expect that. But he was an ODST – tough as nails and twice as sharp and used to getting pounded. He wouldn't crack. He had a reason.”

“Doctor Halsey,” the ONI spook guessed, eyes narrow. “She had to have set this up.” The Spartans made moves to argue but froze a second later when the glass Kaine had been holding shattered in her grip. Her face was stormy and no one had the courage to ask. Although Linda did cross over and grabbed her sister's hand, carefully lifting it and forcing her fist to uncurl so she could remove the shards.

“Let's not start this,” the Admiral said briskly. “I don't want anyone's perceptions colored by us discussing the 'whys' and 'what ifs' of this situation. Save it for the debriefing they're going to give us when we get back. From here to Earth it should be smooth sailing, and we can finally relax.”

“Permission to speak, Admiral,” Chief said, making Faldon tense. She knew what was coming.

“Granted. Speak your mind.”

“I don't wish to contradict you, sir, but perhaps it shouldn't be smooth sailing. And maybe we shouldn't relax.”

“I have a feeling I'm not going to like this...but explain yourself,” Whitcomb sighed. Quickly, John outlined the plan he'd made to attack the _Unyielding Hierophant_ , but Kaine ignored him, focused instead on the blood dripping from her hand as Linda pulled out the last sliver. She could feel 'shut down' in the back of her mind, wanting to pull her under, but she kept her anger burning hot to beat it back. If she had to deal with it, she'd do so after the attack.

“Mission request denied,” the Admiral said once Chief was done.

“Bull-shit!” Faldon yelled, anger snapping. Pushing Linda away, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be able to do that, she cornered the older man like a wolf about to make a killing blow. “Alerting Earth isn't going to do any good against that number of enemies; this is our only chance of buying the UNSC time to prepare. The Chief's plan is our best bet, so we're going with it. If you are that damned determined to get back home, fine, we'll exit Slipstream on our own and you can go about your merry way. But this mission is going through, so get used to it!”

Silence reigned for a few seconds before Cortana shifted, frowning. “I'm not sure you could come on the mission, Commander,” she said. “The Spartans in their MJOLNIR armor should be able to survive the shearing stress and radiation levels, but you probably won't.”

“My ODST armor is based off early MJOLNIR designs,” the redhead bit out. “I know the reports you're referring to with the probes, and the stress is well within this design's parameters. And you know I'm not like most humans.” It was as close as she could come to mentioning her Spartan background, but the message clearly got through as the AI nodded and backed off.

“Commander, you'll need Cortana to get past the Covenant security systems,” Whitcomb argued. “She has to make it to Earth. With the data she's carrying on Halo, the Flood, and Covenant technology, she's far too valuable to risk.”

“There might be another way,” the blue female cut in. “I discovered a file-duplication algorithm in the Covenant AI on _Ascendant Justice_. I successfully used to to reproduce my language-translation routines. I might use it to copy portions of my infiltration programming into the memory-processing matrix in the Master Chief's MJOLNIR armor. It won't be a full copy – there are replication errors and other side effects – but it would give the Spartan team access to some of my capabilities. Enough, I think, to get them through the Covenant security barriers.” Grinding her teeth in frustration about not being able to tell them all that Vincent could handle everything, Kaine held her peace.

Sighing like he was releasing all the air he'd breathed in his entire life, the Admiral actually slumped. “You realize, Chief, that you and your team will be on your own? That my first, my only priority, must be to get to Earth?”

“My team is willing to accept the risk,” John answered.

“The risk?” It was a whisper. “It's a one-way ticket, son. But if you're willing to do it, if you can slow the Covenant assault on Earth, then, hell, it might be worth the trade.”

“Lives spent versus lives wasted,” Kaine said, just as quiet. Everyone but the Spartans looked at her in confusion, but she ignored them. “We're going, Admiral, with or without your blessing.” The tension held for several seconds as the officers glared at each other, but Whitcomb was the first to cave, looking away in defeat. With the conversation clearly over, the non-Spartans trickled out of the room, somehow not questioning how the ODST was included in the small group.

Searching around for something he could say that would get the redhead farther away from 'shutdown', Fred looked around and noted the pictures on the walls. Remembering Klare's fascination with photography back in training, he casually said, “These photos are pretty cool. Daguerreotypes, right?”

Snorting, the redhead spared a glare for him, knowing full well what he was trying to do, but she took the bait anyway. “First, daguerreotypes were made long before the Civil War and were rarely used in the 1860s. It's clear those are not daguerreotypes because they are positive images, which was not possible with the daguerreotypes process. Second, because of the material, it's more likely that these images are tintypes. They are more durable and cheaper to make back then. Finally, in the 1860s there was no photographic process that could work fast enough to capture movement, so all those images of charges or cannon fire could not have been taken.” Scowling playfully at their teasing smiles, she admitted feeling a little better, until 'shutdown' rushed forward when her anger died down. Gritting her teeth against the darkness, Kaine tried to fight her way back. For a moment she feared she wouldn't be able to, but then a large hand settled on her shoulder, forcing her to focus on the moment.

Looking up, she stared into Linda's face plate, feeling that she should fake a smile, despite knowing that it would only worry everyone even more. “No,” she said instead, voice quiet. “I'm not okay.”

“We noticed,” her sister admitted, carefully guiding the smallest Spartan over to a nearby bench and gently pushing her down. Only once the redhead was seated did the other Spartans approach, sitting on the floor around her. Taking a couple deep breaths, Kaine tried to steel herself for the conversation she knew was coming. 'Shut down' was never supposed to be a solution, and the only way to get past it was to talk, but no Spartan enjoyed making themselves vulnerable, even if it would save them. But if she couldn't open up now, surrounded by her brothers and sisters, there really was no hope for her.

“You all know Eric died just before the Battle of Reach,” she whispered numbly, feeling the pit that she was only barely keeping herself from. “I didn't have time to mourn him. There was the official ceremony to make me Commander, the memorial dedication, I found out I have an execution order on my file, and then Reach was attacked. On Reach, I'd worked with Noble Team, and I received the report when Jorge died. But then I had to help the rest of Noble get Cortana to John, and ended up losing them too. Halo...the Flood...my ODSTs...” Her voice wavered and she could feel tears burning, but her chest was numb and she felt like she was falling. “There was just...no time. I couldn't deal with anything; if I wanted to live I had to keep moving forward. Then coming here, getting Linda back, finding out that there were survivors on Reach, losing Li and Anton and Polaski,” her voice cracked, “I couldn't deal with it all. Sleep was my escape, and it gave me some control back, but now...with Halsey kidnapping Kelly and Locklear killing himself-”

With an almost audible _snap_ , the redhead's control shattered. Clutching her head, she doubled over and _screamed_. All the fear and anger she'd been bottling up came pouring out in a violent rush. There were tears, though she wasn't sure how they'd escaped when her eyes were closed so tightly. For a long, horrible second, she was sure that she would shatter into a million pieces too small to be put back together.

Then there were arms around her and she could feel a face pressing against her neck. She was being held, the person curling around her like they were trying to protect her from everything. There was no need to open her eyes to know that it was John; before she was really aware of what she was doing her hands had released her head and was wrapped around his arms, holding him as close as she could. Another body was pressing against her exposed side, hard and protective. Actually, if she focused, she could feel that she was surrounded. The thought would usually trigger a panic attack, but she knew these people. They were her siblings; they'd never hurt her. So, instead, Klare let go of her control for the first time in years and just cried.

Time: 1600\

September 25, 2552\

Slipstream

“ _I'd tell you how insane this entire plan, but it's too late to stop, so I'll just settle for reminding you that your shoulder is still injured and your suit was not_ actually _built to handle this amount of stress, despite the designs,_ ” Vincent said, sounding infuriatingly calm. Kaine would have cussed him out, but she was too focused on simply surviving the damn trip. Every Spartan had known that Slipspace was not usually a smooth journey; the strange not-Slipspace Halsey's crystal had formed didn't count. They had not, however, expected to feel like they were in a tiny ship in a maelstrom.

The Covenant dropship was rolling and bucking, completely out of control. Some of the carbon-molybdenum steel I-beams had already snapped from the stress, painting a very grim picture for the future. There were no lights inside the ship; they'd thrown in a few activated chemical light sticks before they'd left the main ship, but those plastic containers had cracked and there were now millions of microscopic blobs of bioluminous fluid floating about in the zero-G environment.

“Now I know why only big ships travel through Slipspace,” Linda mused, sounding pretty calm herself. However, the Spartans had true MJOLNIR armor, complete with hydrostatic gel to make the entire experience bearable. The ODST wasn't so lucky, but she wasn't going to bring it up if she didn't have to. Her break down in the O-Club had backed her away from 'shut down' significantly, but it also left her raw and emotional. Not a good state to be in just then.

“You know those SS probes?” Fred asked, continuing on the conversation. “They're almost solid Titanium-A.”

“Status?” John called. Kaine knew he was receiving acknowledgement lights and thumbs up, but she couldn't move. Her joints felt like they were being pulled apart and her head was throbbing after a particularly powerful roll had sent her helmet slamming into the bulkhead behind her. “Klare, what is your status?” Gritting her teeth in a silent snarl, the redhead jerked her hand in a parody of the 'surviving' signal.

“This isn't so bad,” Fred called, clearly trying to make her feel better. “The last insertion I made, we hit the ground before the dropship. Now, _that_ was a rough ride. We were-” His story was cut off abruptly as the dropship lurched, cracks appearing in the hull as the lead melted, and then it threw every Spartan forward before slamming them back. The ODST's helmet hit the bulkhead again, hard enough to make stars appear before her eyes. The darkness of unconsciousness was nipping at her mind, but she struggled her way back. Some of her drop pod landings had been worse, so it wasn't too hard to get her mind aware and focused again, even with the throbbing in her skull.

Looking around, the redhead was met with nothing but darkness. She was just about to trigger her suit's external lights when there was a sudden flare of _bright_ from her left. Wincing, she closed her eyes for a few seconds before slowly opening them again, turning to see the Master Chief looking right at her. Triggering her helmet to go transparent, she smiled weakly at him, nodding once. All things considered, she was okay.

He must have gotten the message, as he nodded back before releasing himself from the quick release harness and floated free in the dropship. Copying his actions, Kaine untangled herself from her seat and moved to the more open section of the alien vessel, slowly stretching her aching limbs. Making a note to _never_ enter Slipspace in such a tiny vessel again, she watched as her husband went to each Spartan, giving them a shot of what she assumed was a stimulant to help them come back from unconsciousness.

“Where are we?” Will asked groggily, head in his hands as he floated.

“There's only one way to find out,” John said, having glanced at the dead monitors. “I'll take the portside hatch. Fred, you're on starboard.”

“Roger, Blue-One.” Watching her brothers pull themselves through the ship, the ODST felt the first warning twinges from her body as it finally started recognizing the fact that she was in zero-G. If she somehow managed to survive everything that was coming, she was going to be confined to bed for a month. But she wasn't going to survive, so she didn't think about it too much.

“Cortana,” Chief said over an open COM shared with every team member. “How many ships are we looking at?”

“Two hundred forty-seven warships. Estimation of the total population based on the sampling from your limited field of vision puts that total number at more than five hundred Covenant warships.” Kaine froze, feeling the pit of dread drop out in her stomach. Five hundred? There hadn't even been that many enemy ships at Reach! It didn't matter if Whitcomb managed to get to Earth first; the entire planet would be obliterated by the opening salvo.

“You say they've pinged us three times?” John asked.

“Affirmative. They've been curious about our status, but not as much as you might expect. There's a tremendous amount of COM traffic. They're probably only interested in us as a navigation hazard.”

“Send a signal and explain that our engines are crippled and we'll need assistance to move. Let's see if we can get them to take us to this central station for repairs.”

“Sending message now.”

“Time to wake up,” the Chief told the rest of the Spartans, sending a video feed to every HUD so they could see what he was seeing. “Armor and weapons check on the double.” For several seconds no one moved, but then Blue Team sent their acknowledgement lights and Kaine sent a quick confirmation message. Checking her fears and worries, she tried to regulate her breathing, wondering if her body would seize up before they could get somewhere with gravity. As it was, she wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to keep up with her siblings.

“Covenant C&C responding to our request,” the Cortana-copy announced. “Ferry en route to take us in for repairs. They were a little confused about which warship we belong to, but I simulated static to cover our ship's registration ID. They're too busy to take a closer look at us.”

As John pulled himself back into the dropship, Will approached Kaine and drew a circle with his index finger. It was standard procedure to check suits visually as well as digitally, so she spun around and let him examine her armor. A light touch on her injured shoulder indicated a potential problem there, but there was nothing they could do, so they both let it slide. “You're good,” her brother finally said, allowing her to face him again before he turned around, letting her check him over. Unlike her suit, his MJOLNIR had weathered the trip just fine. Clapping him on the shoulder, she gave him a thumbs up, smiling for good measure since he could see her for a change. The finger swipe she got back was the cherry on top.

“Ordnance load out,” Grace called, opening the duffel bags they'd tied to the hull. Each weapon had been wrapped with lead foil, layers of thermal padding, and then covered in a layer of utility tape. “Heavy or light?”

“We go in heavy,” John answered. “Except Linda.” When the Spartan in question made to argue, he held up a hand. “We'll need you to hang back and cover us with your sniper rifle. I want you fast and deadly. Take a close-range weapon, extra ammo, and whatever you need to keep your sniper rifle working in the field.”

“Roger,” the redhead said, voice brittle and cold. The sound made Kaine shiver, though it was also slightly reassuring. It meant she was getting ready to do what she did best: kill with a single shot.

“The rest of us will take whatever we can carry,” Chief continued, sparing only a glance for his wife, knowing she had her own set of weapons in the bag and would likely stick to them. While she was as strong as any Spartan, ODST training had made her an expert in certain areas, and for this battle they needed every ounce of skill they'd all developed. “Once we're in I have a feeling we won't be able to come back. If we have to, we can always lighten our load.” Everyone nodded before they started passing around the ordnance.

Once everything was distributed, John ordered radio silence and moved back to the hatch, keeping watch. A few seconds later there was the clang of metal on metal echoed through the damaged dropship, and then Kaine could feel a shift in her stomach that meant they were moving. When Fred turned and gave the signal for 'plan working' she knew it was the Covenant tug. They were moving for several minutes, Chief keeping lookout, but then he pulled himself back in and closed the hatch, drifting back to huddle with the rest of them. It hadn't escaped the ODST's notice that she and Linda were the farthest back, protected by the others, but there was no time to complain when there was a sudden sensation of gravity. Atmosphere started leaking in through the cracks of the ship. As everything settled, Fred and Grace covered the starboard hatch, weapons ready, while John and Will took the port side. Bracing for a fight, every Spartan waited as the port hatch cracked and squeaked open.

When a rubbery tentacle pushed through, Kaine worried that she would actually burst out laughing. She saw John signal to hold fire as the Engineers floated in, happily ignoring the hulking Spartans as they observed the alterations made to the dropship with sounds of dismay. One Engineer did pause by the ODST for a second, peering closely at her injured shoulder in a way that had every Spartan looking at her as well. There went any hope of hiding the damage done by the Slipspace trip. But the nice thing about being surrounded by Covenant was that no one could yell at her.

Though she couldn't hear her husband's huff of frustration, she could see the movements and she grinned at him before he eased up to the side of their craft and used his fiber-optic probe to peer outside at what type of welcome they were about to be subjected to. A second later he turned back to them, pointing at Linda and Will before signaling that they should go out and up. With nods, they obeyed, vanishing out the entrance. After a few tense moments, the remaining Spartans relaxed and Kaine knew they'd made it safely. Motioning for the redhead to follow him, John signed that they'd do the same, Grace and Fred bringing up the rear. Nodding, the ODST waited for the larger soldier to move before she was hard on his heels, flipping up onto the top of the craft with him and hurriedly climbing up a dangling cord. Because she was lighter than him, she reached their siblings first and swung up to join them, already sweeping the rest of the area for danger. Other than a few thousand Engineers, she didn't see much of any other alien life.

Once the last two Spartans joined them, John signaled for everyone to spread out and look around; he didn't want to be caught off guard. Kaine, though, he signed to stay close and cover him as he used his HUD to look farther than anyone else could see. She tried really hard not to fidget as she sat still, sweeping the bay constantly. Unlike many in the UNSC, she actually liked Engineers, but seeing the sheer mass of them still made her worry. Just because she'd never met a violent floating alien didn't mean they didn't exist. Because of the rarity of seeing them, she'd assumed there weren't very many. That assumption was clearly in error.

A muffled _click_ over the COM caught her attention, and she looked over in time to see the Chief point to a distant junk pile, hold up two fingers, and then point to the alcove right beside the pile. Knowing what he was ordering, the redhead waited for Fred and Linda to drop to the deck, startling a pair of Engineers, and race for the alcove. Grace followed, and then it was the ODST's turn. Unlike her siblings, she landed without a sound, but she wasn't as fast without the MJOLNIR armor and she had to utilize cover whenever possible before she reached the junk pile, hunkering down behind a large piece of metal. The second she was safe, there were two loud _thump_ s, and then John and Will arrived, taking shelter behind a plasma coil that was as big as a Warthog. When her husband pointed at Fred and Linda, Kaine knew he wouldn't need her right away so she focused on peering through a small hole in the metal. She could see a pair of Grunts in the distance, but they were they only non-Engineers in sight.

“ _I'm in,_ ” Cortana's voice suddenly said over the COM, making the officer jump and turn. John was beside a data terminal she previously hadn't noticed; that must have been why he'd gathered them all there. “ _I have secured our own channel and encrypted the signal so we're free to use the interteam COM._ ”

“Good work,” Chief said before turning to throw a hidden glare at his wife. “How bad is your shoulder? And I swear, if you even think of glossing it over-”

“Slight bleeding only,” the redhead spit back, eyes narrowing. This _really_ wasn't the time for this conversation. “Biofoam isn't flawless. Don't you have a job to do?”

“He's your husband; his first job is to look after you,” Fred muttered before muffling a yelp when Grace casually reached over and slapped the back of his helmet. Thank god the only aliens around to see them were Engineers.

John was clearly still unhappy, but he turned back to the terminal and let Kaine be. “Is there a central reactor in this station?” he asked Cortana-copy. “How well defended is it?”

“ _Stand by. I have to move carefully. There are Covenant security AIs in this system._ ” Waiting, albeit impatiently, the group held it's collective breath. “ _I have schematics for the station. The good news is, each lobe has a central reactor complex with five hundred twelve-terawatt units similar in design to the pinch fusion reactors on their ships. Apparently this energy is used to power a shield generator that can repel the collision of a small moon. I can overload one reactor, causing a melting in its field coils, which will saturate the surrounding-_ ”

“Will it explode?”

“ _Yes – an explosion of sufficient force to vaporize both sections._ ”

“That's the good news? What's the bad?”

“ _The reactor's control system is isolated. I cannot reach it from this terminal. You will have to physically deliver me there._ ” Chief glanced back at Kaine, clearly in question, but she was already shaking her head. Vincent was moving a bit slower than Cortana-copy because he was inside her, but he had the same report. There was no way to trigger an explosion without actually being at the reactor.

“Where is _there_?”

“ _The nearest reactor-control access point is seven kilometers farther into the station's top lobe._ ”

John fell silent for a second, clearly thinking through this new information. Personally, Faldon didn't see the point. They'd come for a job and they weren't going to leave without trying. “Is there a way to leave in the central system until we have need of you?” he asked instead. “It would be handy to have you monitor the Covenant security systems.”

For three full seconds, there was no answer. And then, “ _There is a way. When I was copied from the original Cortana, the duplicating software was copied as well – it becomes an inseparable part of all subsequent copies. I can use this to copy myself into this system._ ”

“Perfect.” No, John. It was too perfect; there was no possible _way_ anything could ever be that easy for them! This was a bad idea!

“ _There are risks, however. Each successive copy contains aberrations that I cannot correct. There may be unforeseen complications associated with using a copy of a copy._ ”

Don't do it, John!

“Do it.” Groaning, Kaine hit her protected head quietly against the wall, knowing that she was getting odd looks from her siblings. The electricity under her skin was growing, but not enough to cause her any real fear. Just some overly dramatic concern. “I'll take that chance, but I'm not willing to take a chance on crossing seven kilometers behind enemy lines without a way to bypass their security systems.”

“ _Stand by,_ ” Cortana-copy said. “ _Working._ ” An entire minute passed before the data chip ejected from the terminal. “ _Done. I'm in. There's an exit to this bay thirty meters to your left. I will black out the security sensors there and open the door in twenty seconds. Hurry._ ”

Grabbing the data chip, Chief reinserted it into his armor, ordering the team, “Move out. Stay low.” Kaine was just about to sarcastically ask how the hell she was supposed to keep up with them when Grace suddenly scooped her up in her arms and _ran_. The redhead barely managed to see the access panel slide open and then they were through, the rest of her siblings hard on their heels. By the time the door snapped shut, they were all safely through.

Unfortunately for everyone that was not an ODST, the path they would need to travel was _small_. At some points they could crawl on hands and knees, but sometimes they had to go on their bellies. Certain sections were so small, the Spartans had to power down their shields and still barely managed to scrape by. Kaine alone had an easy time, leaving her in the front so she could move ahead, scout the area, and then turn around and report. Though that also meant to got to dodge the blades of giant circulation fans and edge past transformer coils more too.

She was also the first to find that their path ended in an unexpected dead end. When the rest of the group arrived, it was to find her, helmet removed, rhythmically hitting her head against the obstruction. Eleven hours. They'd been moving for eleven damn hours, and then this happened. “ _It must be a repair not logged into the station manifest,_ ” Cortana-copy announced.

“Options?” John asked, moving forward and gently grabbing his wife's head before she could hit it again. His hand was smacked away, but the next time the redhead's forehead touched the metal, it stayed still as she leaned into the coolness.

“ _I have only limited mission-planning routines. There are three obvious options. You can blow the obstructing plate with a Lotus anti-tank mine. You can return to the repair bay where we might find a less obvious way in. Or there is a faster, alternative route, but it has drawbacks._ ” That's the one they were going to go for, then.

“Time is running out. The Covenant aren't going to stick around much longer before they strike Earth. Give me the faster route.” Called it.

“ _Backtrack four hundred meters, turn bearing zero-nine-zero, proceed another twenty meters, and exit through a waste access cover. From there you will move in the open for seven hundred meters, pass through a structure, and then down a guarded corridor to the reactor chambers._ ” Right, because that sounded super easy.

“What do you mean 'in the open'?” Grace suddenly asked, voice low. “This is a space station; there should be no open spaces.”

“ _See for yourself,_ ” Cortana-copy replied. The Spartans must have been seeing something on their HUDS, because they all fell silent while Kaine continued to sit still, her head against the metal. Vincent had already explained the situation to her, and she knew it was going to get very dangerous, very fast.

“Let's take a look,” John eventually said, sounding reluctant. Without a word, his wife pushed away from the blockage, quickly squeezing past the group and going back, tugging her helmet back into place as she moved. Her actions worried all of them, but they didn't dare bring the subject up. None of them could forget how long she'd gone without talking and how violently she could get if they tried to force communication. No matter how worried they were about her 'shutting down', they knew they had to back off just then.

Moving quickly, they reached the new access panel in a short amount of time. The ODST moved over enough for her husband to move up and use his probe to look outside, but she was clearly still unhappy. Then again, she hadn't been happy since the Engineer had noticed her wound. However, she did stir when John suddenly poked his head out of the panel. His movements indicated confusion, and that was never a good thing on missions. When he didn't pull back in after a couple seconds, every team member felt a pit of dread open in their bellies. This couldn't _possibly_ be good. Then he was crawling out of the small tunnel, completely unaware that a certain redhead quite suddenly had her heart lodged annoyingly in her throat. Dammit all, if he _ever_ accused her of being reckless again she was going to-

“Okay, Blue Team,” he said over COMs. “Get oriented...as much as you can. Our target is the columned building at one o'clock. I make it to be a three-hundred-meter sprint across open ground. We'll make a break for it. Unless anyone has a better plan?”

Linda was the next out, and she was also quiet for a second before saying, “Permission to post on the rooftop and provide cover.” That good, huh?

“Do it,” Chief ordered. “Let me know when you're in position and ready.” Not able to wait any longer, Kaine exited the tunnel and looked around. It was...not what she'd been expecting. The station was mostly hollow, with a beam of blue light shooting right through the center and illuminating the area like it was daytime. All around on the inner curved surface were needle-thin spires, squat stair-step pyramids, and ornate columned temples. The catwalks and transportation tubes that Vincent had indicated on the map he'd drawn for her were there as well, carrying aliens about.

There was water, flowing in inward-spiral patterns down the walls and then waterfalling 'up' into large hollow towers. Flocks of headless birds and enormous clouds of butterflies flew about, as well as a group of Banshees in a certain section of the space. No wonder her husband had amended his comment about getting oriented.

“You know I'm not going to be able to keep up with you,” the redhead finally said while Linda climbed above them on a hanging rope. “Your suits enhance your speed too much.” And her body was still trying to even out after that extended period in zero-G. “I'd do better from the shadows.”

“We're not splitting up,” John growled, but he couldn't stop himself from stepping back when she spun on him, lips contorted in a snarl and a growl hanging between them. Alright, probably not the best thing he'd ever said to her.

“Try and stop me, _Master Chief_ ,” Kaine hissed, spitting his rank in a way she'd never done before. Not giving him time to do just that, she spun on her heel again and sprinted to the cover she'd already chosen; an alcove farther down that would give her a better view of what was happening above and below them. She'd barely gotten into position before the remaining Spartans broke from their dark corner, heading straight towards the needed temple.

“You're good so far,” Linda said over the COM, clearly keeping an eye on everything while the ODST brought her rifle open and triggered the scope. She didn't have the range that her sniper sister had, but the Corps had drilled her in this type of shooting until she was nearly as good. For now, she'd settle for being backup. “There are Elites, but they're unarmed. No, wait. A Hunter pair is advancing on your position. Stand by.”

“Left,” Kaine said calmly, already having the indicated alien in her sights. She fired off two rounds; one to collapse any shields and the second to pierce the gap in the armor. Another two shots from above took out the other alien and it dropped.

“Threat neutralized,” the larger Spartan announced, a strange note of warmth in her voice. It wasn't often she got a partner that could match her in skill. “The rest of them are scattering. Banshees approaching. I'm moving.”

“Covering,” the ODST replied, narrowing in on her moving sister. “Path left and down is clear for the next twelve seconds.” Watching as Linda followed directions, the smaller redhead felt the buzz of electricity grow stronger. That made sense, considering Covenant certainly knew they were there now, but something told her it was worse than that. So when there was suddenly a very large explosion from the direction of the temple the others had gone to, she wasn't surprised. Worried, most certainly, but not surprised.

There was nothing she could do, though, because it was like the floodgates had been opened and there was Covenant pouring in from everywhere. She'd already lost sight of Linda, though she was positive her sister had gone high; no sniper worth their rifle passed up an opportunity to get higher. The problem wasn't with the Spartan, but with her. With so many aliens moving about, she couldn't move and her shelter was far from ideal. Personally, she didn't want to be in the situation at all, but they'd spent too long in those damn tunnels; there was no time for her siblings to slow to her pace. That didn't mean she was happy with what she'd said, in any way.

The minutes dragged on, punctuated by distant explosion and the occasional alien randomly dropping dead as Kaine took her frustrations out on the unsuspecting enemy. She paused only once, and that was when Vincent informed her that Grace's biomonitors had flatlined. The pit of 'shut down' roared as she stumbled back towards it, but the ODST forced herself to work through the pain, channeling it into a hail of bullets that decimated a Jackal formation. That stunt forced the officer to then quickly change cover, barely managing to avoid being seen. Despite the danger, her rage burned bright and she started taking greater risks, having to be saved by the unseen Linda a couple times when she did something she really shouldn't have.

As deep as she was in her anger, the smaller redhead had lost track of time until she suddenly heard John say, “Linda, do not reply. The Covenant are triangulating on our signals. I'm hoping they do and send a few of those Banshees to reconnoiter. When they get close to the heat-exchange plant, take them out – we need their vehicles.” Knowing her sister wouldn't reply, Kaine looked up warily, but she nearly laughed when she finally caught sight of the Spartan in question. Her sister was dangling by a rope, dangerously close to the light beam but looking perfectly at ease. The Spartan's left forearm and right leg were wrapped in the rope, keeping her steady, while she fired off every shot with her one free arm. An impossible position and beyond impossible shots, but Linda had never missed a target before. She wasn't going to start now.

The first two shots at the Banshee pilots were all Linda, but the third was out of her shot angle because of the light beam. Without a thought, Kaine stepped free of her cover, went to her knees, and fired. She saw the vehicle crash and felt a rush of joy before her danger sense _screamed_ and she threw herself to the side. A Brute's hammer (because what else would it possibly be?!) slammed into the ground where she had been, leaving a crater almost deep enough to bury her in. Hopefully, her sister would be able to cover their brothers' retreat, because the odds of the ODST getting off the station alive had just gone down exponentially. After all, it wasn't like she could call for help, what with Covenant triangulating their signals.

With a roar, the Brute swung its hammer after her, forcing Kaine to leap back. However, she had miscalculated the distance to the wall and she struck it hard, knocking most of the air out of her lungs. Her body had learned to function with her relatively low level of activity after the zero-G trip, but this fight would push her over the dangerous edge very quickly. In reality, she was damned if she did and damned if she didn't but the same determination that had kept her going in training despite not being the twin chosen made her get back on her feet to meet the alien head-on. Smiling behind her helmet, the redhead felt the rush of adrenaline that came with every battle, but there was something new this time. She was filled with an intense joy, and it took a second to realize why. For the _first_ time, she didn't have to hold back. The only humans that would see her were her siblings; there was no way ONI would learn what she did on the alien ship. For the first time in twenty-seven years, she could be herself.

Dying like that wouldn't be too bad, actually.

“Let's dance,” Klare grinned, ducking easily when a wild swing came in her direction. Shifting on light feet, she waited for the Brute to lift its arms before suddenly launching an open-hand strike at its center, feeling bone cave under her hand. The shockwaves of pain that came up her arm warned that such a move should not be done twice, but it bought her the time to put some serious distance between herself and the enemy. There was some chatter over the COM, including what she was sure was the _Oly Oly Oxen Free_ call, but every scrap of focus she had was on the alien that was already recovering.

With another roar, the Brute lifted its hammer to chase after her, but it suddenly jerked twice before falling over. For a long second, Kaine could only stare, ears barely registering that they had heard two gunshots. Then a Banshee suddenly careened to a stop before her, John hunched over the controls and Linda balanced on his back, a curl of smoke still coming from the barrel of her rifle. The ODST had serious doubts about the Covenant vehicle being able to fly if all three of them were aboard, but there was no time to argue. So, knowing she'd regret it, the redhead rushed over and slid between her husband and the actual metal of the Banshee. It was the only place she had even a vague hope of not falling off right away when Chief gunned the engines, and gun them he did. None of them would ever know how the small vehicle was able to move so damn fast with two armored Spartans and an enhanced ODST on it, but it did.

“Coming in hot,” John called over the COM, dodging any shots fired his way. “Open the door and get ready for a quick exit, Blue Team. Cortana, breach those airlocks. Now!” Nothing happened. “Cortana, the airlocks.”

“ _Apologies, Chief,_ ” Cortana's voice said through all COMs, though it sounded...off. “ _I've spun off a dedicated copy to...to...speak with you._ ”

“Override the airlock safeties, Cortana. Open the external and repair bay doors.”

“ _Working, Chief. There's too much system COM traffic. So many of us. Near saturation level. Have to fight to get...stand by..._ ” Worried about what she was hearing, Kaine silently asked Vincent to jump in, and she didn't like his answer. The Cortana copy had copied itself so many times, there were literally thousands of Cortana's in the system. He wasn't even sure he could get in.

An explosion ahead of them at one of the windows was apparently going to be their way out, but there was one problem. The window was cracked, yes, but it held. That shouldn't have been possible after a Lotus anti-tank mine, but the evidence was right before Kaine's eyes. They were stuck. “Cortana!” John yelled, the first hint of fear in his voice. “Cortana – _it's now or never!_ ”

“ _In..._ ” the female AI's voice said, very faint. “ _Intersystem failure 08934-EE. Global system error 9845-W. Resetting. Inner doors open. Override in progress. System lockdo-_ ” The COM went dead. However, a surge of success from Vincent gave the ODST a faint feeling of hope.

Beyond the cracked window, she could see the atmosphere of the repair bay turn white and then clear. Every twenty meters along the bay walls, airlocks were opening, revealing the blackness of space beyond them. Fred and Will suddenly appeared beside the trio, their own Banshees matching speed. The cracks of the window had grown when the airlocks had opened, but it hadn't shattered. John and Fred used their vehicles plasma canons to try and blow it, but the transparent material remained stubbornly intact. Their only choice was to ram it. Seconds before they hit, John curled in over Kaine, covering her as much as possible

Despite that, she still felt the impact, followed instantly by the intense vacuum of space as the atmosphere vented violently through the open window. The Banshee hit the deck hard, rolling several times before bursting out of the airlock and finally drifting peacefully. Some point during the whole thing John had gotten knocked off the vehicle, but he was tethered to the device and was able to pull himself back. His wife, on the other hand, had a death grip on the Banshee, and that wasn't much of an exaggeration. Her eyes were closed tight as she fought off the urge to scream in pain. If they got out of there alive, she was going to give standing orders to shoot her if she ever volunteered to go into a zero-G environment without the proper suit again.

Kaine was so focused on keeping herself together, she hadn't been aware of the Banshee moving until it ran into something. Cracking her eyes open, she noted that it was an abandoned dropship and that Linda was already scrambling up to open the access hatch. John carefully peeled the ODST off the alien vehicle and held her close as he pulled himself up and into the ship. He was the last one in, so he sealed the hatch behind him before noticing that the dropship had been partitioned off. Before he could ask, the area they were in suddenly pressurized, atmosphere and gravity reasserting themselves. Worried that he'd made a mistake by thinking the vessel was dead in the water, Chief full out flinched when a section of the wall slid aside; he turned to shield his wife while every other Spartan had weapons instantly aimed. But then there was a quiet coo and he knew what was aboard with them.

Seeing the Engineer still made him pause, because there was clearly something wrong. It wasn't floating. In fact, it looked like some of the sacks on its back had been punctured. However, it seemed friendly enough, though it instantly reached a tentacle out towards the officer in his arms. She reached out to lightly grab it, apparently just as fascinated by the gentle alien as it was of her. Looking up at John, she triggered her helmet clear, even knowing it meant he would see her pain. “Leave me with it,” she said, barely able to form words. “You need to get us to safety.” He clearly didn't agree, but there was no argument he could make, so he reluctantly nodded and set her down carefully by the crippled alien. Hesitating a fraction of a second, the Spartan gave a quick sign that didn't really mean anything, though it conveyed happiness and love, before moving to join the others.

Moving carefully, Kaine painfully removed her helmet, taking in a breath of 'fresh' air with obvious relief. A gentle hum from beside her had her turning to smile weakly. She wasn't sure how much the creature understood, but her mother had always said that smiles were universal. From the happy chirp and the way the Engineer nuzzled her cheek, that theory was true.

Feeling the dropship start to move, the redhead looked towards the cockpit where Linda was piloting. Fred was manning the ops station, while John stood behind them both and Will made his way back to sit beside the ODST. Everyone knew that when the _Unyielding Hierophant_ exploded, it would take out everything around it. The question was if there was safety anywhere nearby. From the way Chief and Linda were shifting, it was clear they were in private communication, but if that was good or bad couldn't be answered.

“What's this?” John suddenly asked over the team COM, pointing to something on Fred's display. Kaine couldn't see what he was indicating, but the flare of hope in her belly made her hold her breath.

Fred looked at the screen before inhaling sharply, clearly surprised. “If the translation software is working right, that's the E-Band...it's one of ours,” he whispered. He snapped on the external speakers, and the dropship was suddenly filled with the six tones that every Spartan knew like the back of their hand.

“ _Oly Oly Oxen Free_ ,” Chief breathed, voice dripping in shock. “Fred, send the countersign.

“Aye, Chief. Sending now.”

Everyone waited in breathless anticipation until suddenly, “ _It's about time you showed up,_ ” Admiral Whitcomb's voice drawled over the COM. “ _Switch to encryption scheme 'Rainbow'._ ”

“Decryption online,” Fred announced, running a shunt from the Covenant COM to the data port in the back of his helmet.

“Admiral, with all due respect, sir, why are you here?” John asked, tilting his head like a confused puppy.

“ _Lieutenant Haverson suggested we drop out of Slipspace on the edge of this system – hide in the Oort cloud and gather a little intel._ ” Whitcomb sighed, sounding older than he actually was. “ _Well, I took one look and figured that even if you took out that station...hell, son, there'd still be a couple hundred Covenant ships within spittin' distance of Earth. Me getting there and warning them about it wouldn't make a lick of difference. So I'm going to do something about it here and now. You've done your part, Chief. Leave the rest to me._ ” There was a long pause, then the Admiral asked, voice low and serious, “ _You did get it done, didn't you, son? You got that station rigged to blow?_ ”

“Yes, sir,” the Spartan answered. “Four minutes thirty-two seconds and counting.”

“ _Perfect, Master Chief. Bring 'em on back to the barn. Stay on your heading. Your instincts are dead on. We're on the far side of the moon and are waiting for you._ ” The dropship sped up.

“Waiting, sir?”

“ _Whitcomb, over and out._ ” The COM went dead, and the pit of dread opened in Kaine's chest again. With a grunt, she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled forward, nearly falling until John whirled around and caught her. He must have seen something on her face, because instead of lecturing like he usually would, he just held her, letting her lean on him. As the dropship circled to the dark side of the moon, the battered form of the _Gettysburg_ appeared...but it was alone.

“Where's _Ascendant Justice_?” Chief whispered.

Linda landed in the _Gettysburg's_ launch bay without issue, quickly powering down the dropship and popping the hatches open. For the first time in her life, Kaine didn't complain when John scooped her into his arms and carried her off the ship, though she did glance back to see Will getting the Engineer to wrap its tentacles around him so he could carry it. The small group moved through the halls quickly before reaching a lift that would take them to the bridge. Worry was still gnawing at the smaller redhead, and it turned to outright fear when they stepped onto the bridge and realized that the only human in sight was Sergeant Johnson, Cortana standing beside him, surrounded by a mathematical scrawl that none of them had a hope of understanding.

The Sergeant looked up when the group exited the lift, frowning when he realized that not all of them had come back. However, he shook the moment off, forcing a sarcastic smile as he nodded to the viewscreen that displayed the command-and-control station. “I'm not sure what that thing is,” he joked. “Don't look like any 'uneven elephant' to me – more like two squids kissing. Whatever it is, damned glad it's going to blow up. Nice job – almost as good as if we sent in the Marines.”

“Where's the Admiral?” John asked, moving forward slowly to lower his wife into one of the padded seats. “And Lieutenant Haverson?”

Johnson's smile vanished. “I'll show you.” He moved over to Weapons Station One. “A Clarion spy drone is nearly in position.” The viewscreen that had displayed the Covenant ship switched to static for a second before displaying the _Ascendant Justice_ moving out of the shadow of the moon. Kaine could remember what the ship had looked like at Halo; what she saw now was barely a shadow of the once powerful vessel.

“I don't understand,” the Spartan leader admitted, head tilted in confusion. “What's going on?”

“ _Stand by, Chief,_ ” Cortana replied. “ _I'm attempting to attune_ Ascendant Justice _'s Slipspace_ _drive to the_ Gettysburg _'s mass and profile._ ”

“That's what we were up to while you were off sightseeing,” Johnson chimed in. “We pulled the Slipspace matrix out of our piggybacked ship and slapped it into the _Gettysburg_.” The ODST looked at him in horror. The Covenant ship couldn't jump? So it was a decoy? Or worse...

“Not a decoy,” Chief whispered, coming to the same conclusion. “...a lure. Sergeant, get a signal to _Ascendant Justice_. Bounce it off that spy drone if you have to.”

“Roger, Chief,” the Marine said, typing in a command. An error warning blared at him, making him shake his head in confusion and type again, going slower to not make a mistake.

There wasn't time for this. “Linda, take the NAV station. Fred, you're on Ops. Will, give the Sergeant a hand at Weapons One.”

The Spartans jumped to obey. Will carefully nudged Johnson aside, but before he could do anything, the Engineer on his back reached forward and tapped three buttons, resulting in a _beep_. “COM patch established,” the Spartan announced. Giving the alien a friendly pat, he continued, “On viewscreen two.”

The bridge of the Covenant ship appeared, revealing Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant Haverson on the raised dais. Noticing the COM connection, the Admiral smiled. “Glad to see you made it safely aboard, son.”

“Sir, that fleet will destroy you before you can fire a single salvo.”

“I don't think so, Master Chief,” Whitcomb replied easily, tapping a holographic display. A slim blue crystal shard appeared – a copy of the one Locklear had destroyed. “I'm sending this image to every ship in the system and letting them know it's theirs for the taking...if they dare to board this ship and face Earth's best warriors.” He laughed, the sound a bit raw. “I think that'll appeal to those Elites and their overinflated sense of honor.”

“Yes, sir. It will,” John had to reluctantly agree. Kaine could only shake her head, burying her face in her hands. The pit was screaming at her, trying to swallow her whole, made stronger with with loss of Grace and the imminent loss of an officer she felt nothing but respect for. She was so lost in her internal fight, she lost track of what was happening around her until a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and shook lightly. Startled, she looked up into Chief's helmet before looking at the viewscreen again. Admiral Whitcomb was still there, a gash on his forehead and sparks flying from the sealed entrance as the aliens tried to force their way in. But his eyes were on her, so she forced herself to straighten and listen.

“I was wrong, Commander,” Whitcomb said quietly, eyes soft. “You were right to pull this mission. So I want you to promise me something. Promise that you'll keep doing what you know is right, no matter what people of authority might say. Because if humanity is going to survive, it's going to be because of people like you.” Fighting back the tears, she nodded, unable to say anything back. “Promise me you'll also look after the Spartans. They need someone that sees them as humans first.”

“I promise,” she croaked out.

“Thank you, Commander. And for the record? I think Eric would be so damn proud of you right now. I certainly am.” There was nothing she could say to that, but there was something she could do. So, bracing herself again the Master Chief, Kaine got to her feet, held herself tall, and saluted. Without a word, Vice Admiral Whitcomb returned the gesture. They both held still until the doors to the bridge burst open and Elites came pouring in. Everyone saw Whitcomb spin around, firing a machine gun they hadn't noticed, and then the viewscreen went to static.

It didn't change back.

The small group watched in silence that the command-and-control center finally exploded, destroying the ships lured close the Whitcomb's suicide charge. Large chunks of molten debris shot out, impacting other enemy vessels that had not been close enough to be fully destroyed. Several pieces nearly hit the spy drone, forcing John to order it back behind the moon for safety. “Cortana,” he asked, voice numb. “Is the _Gettysburg_ ready to jump?”

“ _Slipspace capacitors charged, Master Chief. Ready when you are._ ”

“Stand by.” The bridge fell silent, no one willing to say anything. “Will, bring the drone back out.”

“Roger, Chief.”

The viewscreen shifted, showing the area that had once held hundreds of enemy vessels. Only a dozen had survived the blast and ensuing hail of destructive debris. Those that could move were slowly limping away, while others drifted dead in space. “A brilliant strategic victory,” Kaine whispered, using a phrase the Admiral had been very fond of. John could only nod before turning to his AI.

“Cortana, get us out of here.” The AI didn't reply, but the screens suddenly went black and the ship shuddered as they made the jump. They'd have to go to a random location before they could head to Earth; Cole Protocol was still in effect, despite having evidence that Covenant already knew the planet’s location. It was still such a mind boggling thought.

“I can't stay here,” Kaine suddenly said, voice quiet and tight. “Johnson, help me find a room with a bed.” None of the Spartans argued as the Marine looped one of the redhead's arms over his neck and walked her out, though the pair did stop to collect the injured Engineer from Will. Off the bridge, the ship was frighteningly quiet, but the ODST barely noticed. Her mind was drifting, which was rarely a good thing. “You've done this before,” she whispered, startling the older man. “Carried me.”

“Not carrying, so much,” he shrugged, “but I did support you. Surprised you remember; you were drugged up to your gills on Insurrectionist truth serum.” He noticed her flinch but didn't pursue the subject. “Come on, Commander. The personnel quarters are right up ahead.” She only nodded, gaze lowered. There was no reaction when he gently pulled her into a room, nor when he lowered her to the bed, though she did help the Engineer climb off her back and settle on a mass of blankets on the floor. “I'll send the Master Chief to you as soon as he can be spared,” the Marine said, smiling crookedly when she gave him a confused look. “Commander, I ain't stupid and I ain't blind. I see how the two of you are with each other, and I saw the ring all the way back when you weren't sure which way was up and if I was Lillian or Takoda. The love you two have is so disgustingly obvious, I expect little hearts to pop up any second. And it's clear you need him. So, I'll send him down.”

“Thanks, Sergeant,” the redhead sighed, relaxing slightly into the bed. “For everything.”

“Think nothing of it,” he replied seriously. “You remember how you said you follow the Master Chief? Well, I follow you. You ever need me, I'm there.” She nodded slightly and he ruffled her hair for a second before walking out. The room was dark, with only a dim glow from the damaged lights providing any type of illumination. Despite the pain and fatigue dragging at her mind, Kaine stayed awake. 'Shut down' was too painfully close, making her fear that if she fell asleep, she'd never wake up.

And then the door slid back open and John walked in. He gave the Engineer a pat on the head when it cooed at him, but shook his head when his wife patted the bed beside her. Before she could get upset, he started stripping off his armor, piece by piece. The redhead could only watch. She knew how complicated MJOLNIR armor was to take on and off. Usually, the process was only attempted with machines, since there were several delicate details that needed to be addressed. But the Chief was moving with the ease of long practice until he stood free of the metal in only his under-clothes. Leaving the pile on the ground, he finally got onto the bed, pulling Kaine has close to him as he could. She went willingly, breathing in the scent of him that she'd never really forgotten, but couldn't remember smelling that good. When she felt his heartbeat against her cheek, the tears finally started flowing, but they were tears of relief. Despite everything: Reach, Halo, the Flood, _Ascendant Justice_ , the rescue at Reach, the _Unyielding Hierophant_ ; despite it all, they were alive. Not all of their siblings had survived, and the time of mourning would come. She would have to let go of all the pain she'd been holding, but that was in the future. In the present, she just reveled in the simple fact that her husband was with her.

They were alive.


End file.
